Baby Clementine
by WakaLordFalcon
Summary: Clementine is a three year old little girl growing up in a world full of empty promises and cruel happenings. Follow this brave little girl on her journey through the crumbling states while she faces other survivors helping and/or using her, situations she would've rather avoided, and an adventure to remember through the walking dead.
1. Notes

***CHANGE: Account being left activated so my popular fics will still be accessible for reading purposes :) You're welcome. Just a few changes have been made:**

\- ALL answers to reviews deleted (Sorry...)

-ALL chapters compressed into one :)

**Enjoy this story - much love from WakaLordFalcon (previously Bubbles2k100)**


	2. Full Works

**Chapter 1:**

* * *

Clementine was holding onto Christa's hand tightly as the duo made their way through the dense forestry. Every noise around her caused her little head to turn in its direction, searching for the source. Christa was bent down slightly so she could keep a hold of three year old little Clementine's hand.

The little girl didn't enjoy being lifted, only when she was scared or tired; sometimes if she just wanted a cuddle. She knew walkers were bad and that many people had died to protect her, such as Lee, Kenny and her first friend Duck, but what she didn't understand was _why_ they had to be bad.

Clementine didn't remember much about her mother or father but she remembered Lee clearly. She remember him handing her to Christa and Omid and walking away with tears in his eyes. She tried to follow him but Christa wouldn't let her. Later that day, Omid broke the news to her that Lee had gone to heaven.

Christa always told her, if she sees a walker, to run away or hide. She had found out that's why Lee left. A walker got him and he was going to die. She longed for Lee to give her one last hug, or laugh at her silly little jumbled up sentences and childish antics. She had only been away from him for a few months, but it felt like years.

"Are you tired yet?" Christa asked, smiling down at the little girl.

Clementine shook her head and looked up at Christa. "Chrisa, Omid back _now_?" she asked. Her English wasn't perfect but it was understandable at least, and she would improve as she aged.

Christa picked her up, forgetting the unspoken rule of not lifting her under most circumstances. "Omid's not coming back, sweetie…" she said.

Clementine looked at her confused. "Why not?" she asked innocently.

"He's gone to heaven, with Lee and your mommy and daddy…" Christa explained.

Omid had died a few days before. He had been shot in the chest while waiting for Clementine to stop messing with the water bottle in a rest stop. Christa had saved the little girl just in time. If she hadn't shown up when she did, she'd have been alone, and not having that conversation with the little girl.

Clementine thought about Christa's words for a minute before laying her head against Christa's chest. "Are you _sad_?" she asked.

Christa smiled at the little bundle of hope in her arms. "I am, Clementine. But as long as I have you, everything will be okay!" she said, kissing the girls cap that covered her mad curly hair.

Lee had told her it was in the crib with Clementine when he first found her so he took it as a reminder of her real home for when she grew up. Now, she wore it all the time.

Clementine lifted her head and smiled at Christa. "I'm happy, and you happy! We a _team_!" she said, beaming at Christa as she repeated sometime Omid had told her on many occasions over the few months they had spent together. He always said it to cheer her up.

"_We're_ a team, Clem. That's right!" Christa praised the girl. She corrected the toddler on small mistakes with her speech but never scolded the girl in any way.

Clementine giggled and yawned loudly.

"I think it's time to sleep." Christa said, wrapping her arms around the girl's tiny frame protectively.

"Night, night!" the girl chirped as she snuggled into Christa's jacket.

"Night, Clem." The woman whispered, kissing the child's forehead as sleep took over.

* * *

Clementine woke up still in Christa's arms, but Christa was running through the woods. "Chrisa…?" she asked, wiggling around in the woman's arms.

"Shhh, Clem. It's okay…" Christa tried to keep the girl from moving around.

"Down!" Clementine demanded.

"No, honey. We have to run…" Christa explained.

"Is bad guys here? Do we _hide_?" the girl asked, clinging to Christa as fear surrounded her.

They suddenly burst through some tall grass and into an old abandoned camp. Christa sat Clementine inside a wrecked, white van. The woman quickly pulled something out of her pocket and shoved it down Clementine's little fleece, then zipped the three year olds coat zip up as high as it could go before tucking the laces of her little shoes behind the tongue of the footwear.

She took Clementine's fragile little face in her hands and kissed her forehead. A tear ran down Christa's face as she locked eyes with the frightened toddler. "Chrisa has to go, Clem. Stay here, and be _brave_! You're a big girl, okay? I'll come back! I'll come back to get you, but you have to _stay put_, Clementine. If someone _bad_, like that woman who hurt Omid, comes over here, tell them Chrisa said you need to stay here. If they pick you up gently and act _nice _then go with them, Clem. You'll be _safe_. I love you… Don't cry, sweetheart…" she said sadly.

Clementine had tears running down her face. "I come?" she asked.

Christa shook her head and stuck a hand in her pocket, pulling out a cookie. "Here, Clem. A big cookie, for a big girl! I have to go… stay here!" she quickly said before standing up and running away.

Clementine sat frozen for a minute, leaning against an old box inside the truck, waiting for Christa to come back and take her with her.

Something else happened instead.

A group of angry men ran into the camp. "Which way did she go?" one of them asked.

The men scanned the camp searching for clues. "Look! Footprints! They lead that way!" another one exclaimed, pointing in the direction Christa had ran.

"Good eye, Winston. Come on!" a third man shouted and they all followed Christa's path.

Clementine wandered over to the open door of the van and carefully got out. She looked around; everything was blurred because of her silent tears. "Chrisa?" she called, clutching the cookie close to her chest.

She wandered through the trees looking for Christa, completely ignoring the instructions to stay put. "Chrisa? I'll share!" she shouted into the trees, waving the cookie in the air.

Her voice echoed through the trees, but Christa didn't come back.

She heard someone talking in the distance but it didn't sound like Christa. Clementine was slowing down as her heart shattered into tiny pieces. She was scared but no one was there to cuddle with her. Christa was gone and she didn't know where. The voice got closer, and in an act of pure fear, Clementine hid behind some bushes.

She sat with her knees up to her chest, her lip quavering as she tried to be _brave_, like Christa had told her.

"I heard it coming from this direction." A man with a southern accent said slightly confused.

"Are you sure?" another man with the same kind of accent, but slightly older, asked.

"Yeah, I heard someone calling…" the man trailed off and the area went silent. Footsteps approached the bush she was hiding behind. "Hello?" he called.

Clementine hugged her legs tighter as she tried to be quiet but she couldn't stop the sobs from escaping her mouth and blew her cover.

A man with shaggy brown hair and an orange shirt peered behind the bushes cautiously, but calmed down when he saw Clementine trying to hide. "Hey, darling." He said bending down beside her.

She looked at him briefly before burying her head back into her knees. "Are you alone?" he asked.

"Yes…" she whimpered.

He frowned before putting his hand on out for her to take. "Come here…" he said, turning to look over his shoulder to the other man in the green coat, before facing her again.

She slowly moved close enough to him so he could pick her up and bring her out from her hiding place. "What's your name?" he asked, changing his hold on her and giving her his best smile.

"C…Clementine." She said, drying her eyes and looking up at the man curiously.

"It's nice to meet you, Clementine. I'm _Luke_, and this is _Pete_." He introduced himself and his older friend, pronouncing every word slowly and carefully so he knew the girl understood.

"Howdy." Pete greeted. Clementine smiled at his accent. He sounded just like Kenny, who Clementine remembered little about, but at least it was something. "What age are you?" Pete asked, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

She was so small and slight but he could tell she had been fed well.

"This many!" she said putting up three fingers. Christa taught her how to count to ten on her fingers and learned that she was three years old not too long ago.

"Three!?" Luke exclaimed. He was shocked that they had just found a baby out in the woods all by herself.

"So where are the people you were with?"

"Chrisa runned away! Bad men follow her and she gone and leave me _here_…" Clementine explained as best she could. She was very smart; she was able to understand most things anyone said to her, but she had trouble saying things without it sounding like gibberish.

"How about we take you back to our house? It's nice and _warm_ and _safe_ there and maybe 'Chrisa' will come and find you there!" Luke asked, using his sleeve to dry away a few tears that remained on her cheeks.

She thought about it for a minute, remembering what Christa had told her. "I stay…" she said.

"Stay? Where?" Luke asked.

"Chrisa telled me to stay p…pu…" she couldn't think of the word Christa had used.

"Put?" Pete asked, putting two and two together.

Clementine nodded her head. "Stay _put_!" she chirped.

Luke chuckled at her innocence and began walking through the trees with Pete close behind. "Well, I ain't willing to leave a little girl out here in the woods to die. What about you, Pete?" Luke explained.

"Not in a million years." Pete said.

"I'm _big_ girl!" Clementine stated, pouting at Luke since he called her a 'little girl'.

"Yeah, Clem. You are a big girl!" Luke laughed again. He forgot what it was like to be around someone 'normal', let alone a little girl.

She started to nibble on her cookie from where she sat in Luke's arms.

"Is that nice?" Pete asked.

Clementine hummed a yes and beamed at the man. "Yummy!" she exclaimed. She looked up at Luke and shoved the slobbery cookie into his face. "Share?" she asked.

Luke took a tiny bite and licked his lips. "Mmm! You're right, Clem. That was yummy!" he said childishly.

Clementine giggled at his nonsense and turned to face forward and see a cabin up ahead. "House!" she exclaimed, pointing into the distance.

"That's _our_ house." Pete said. As the trio got closer to the cabin, and Clementine finished off the last of her cookie, she started wiggling around in Luke's arms.

"Down!" she said. Luke was hesitant at first but she gave him her biggest puppy dog eyes ever and sweetly asked "Please?" He stood her down, watched her raise her hand up high to reach his, and gently took her tiny hand in his. Pete opened the front door and let Clementine drag Luke inside.

They walked into the kitchen and were greeted by three people; two men, one had darker skin; just a little darker than Clementine's, and a woman of the same colour with a big belly.

The other man with hair like Luke's except black and an orange/red plaid shirt stood up from where he was sitting at the table. He looked down at Clementine and raised an eyebrow. "Who's this?" he asked, his accent being noted by the three year old as she had never heard anything like it before.

Luke bent down to pick her up but she pushed him away and shook her head. He stood back up and turned to the man. "This is Clementine. Clem, this is Carlos, Alvin and Rebecca." Luke introduced the standing man as Carlos, the obese man with glasses as Alvin, and pregnant woman as Rebecca.

"C…Car-os…los?" Clementine tried her best to repeat the man's name but failed. He smiled and bent down in front of her. "Hello, sweetie. It's Car-" he started.

"Car…" Clementine repeated.

"-los." He finished.

"…los." She repeated again.

"Carlos." He said, smiling at her warmly.

"Car-los… _Carlos!_" she beamed up at him as she finally pronounced his name perfectly. He stood up and smiled at Pete before walking to the door. "I'm going to get Sarah." He said, and he left the room.

"Who?" Clementine asked, looking at Luke confused.

"Another person from our group; his daughter, Sarah." He explained. S

he turned back around and smiled at Alvin. "Alv…in?" she asked. He nodded his head. "_Alvin!" _she chirped, earning a small chuckle from the man at the table.

Pete opened the door but turned to Luke before leaving. "I'll get Nick." He said.

Luke led Clementine over to the table and helped her into one of the chairs before sitting next to her. She climbed onto the table and crawled across to Rebecca. Rebecca was not smiling like everyone else, but frowning at the toddle on front of her.

Clementine pointed down at her stomach. "Is baby there?" she asked.

The pregnant lady's eyes widened. "Yeah… how did you know that?" she asked.

"Chrisa have baby in belly too. Baby disappear and Chrisa got sad but she not cry…" Clementine slowly explained as she thought of the words to explain what had happened.

Rebecca's gazed softened. "You probably can't pronounce my name, can you?" she asked.

The little girl put her hand up to her face as she mentally took on the challenge. "Reba…? Rubec…?" she asked.

Rebecca smiled slightly before helping the girl out. "Re-bec-ca." she said.

"Re-bec-ca. Rebecca. _Rebecca!_" Clementine finally got it out and giggled from where she sat on the table.

"Better get off the table, Clem. Carlos might not be happy if there are little footprints on his table…" Luke said, from across the table.

She quickly crawled over to him and extended her arms, allowing him to take her off the wooden surface and sit her on his knee.

She was a perfect little girl, it didn't seem like the world was ending outside because she didn't look starved or sad or scared. Her chubby little fingers played with Luke's hand as she sat against him. One hand went to her zip and pulled at it uselessly.

"You okay?" Alvin asked.

"Warm…" she complained. Luke helped her pull down the zip, surprised when a little piece of paper fell onto her legs. She quickly picked it up and opened it out, staring at the scribbles on it confused.

She pushed it towards Luke. "Read?" she asked.

He gently took the page from her and read it out loud. "_Whoever finds Clementine, please take care of her. My name's Christa, although Clem calls me Chrisa…" _

Clementine's eyes widened. "Chrisa?" she asked.

"_I ran into some bandits and I'm leaving her here in this van so they don't hurt her. I probably won't make it far until they find me, so please just keep my girl safe. Thank you." _Luke finished reading and looked up at Alvin and Rebecca's shocked expressions.

"She…" Alvin couldn't find the words.

"Is… Chrisa come back?" Clementine asked, looking at Luke with her big amber eyes. "I…I don't think Christa's coming back, Clem…" Luke said. There was no point in lying to the girl.

Her eyes became sparkly as tears threatened to fall and her bright smile turned to a saddened frown. "Why not…?" she whimpered before breaking down into tears.

She cried loudly and Luke tried to calm her down but she wouldn't stop. "What do I do?" he asked as he stood up and held the little girl close.

Rebecca stood up and approached Luke. "Give her here." She said. Luke quickly handed the distraught child over to the soon to be mother. "Shhh…" Rebecca tried to hush the girl.

Clementine laid her head against Rebecca's chest and bawled her eyes out. She just wanted Christa to come back for her. She didn't want to stay with these strangers in case they were bad. Listening to Rebecca's heartbeat calmed her down a little bit but not enough to stop her crying.

"It's okay, Clem. Big girls don't cry, do they?" Luke asked from where he stood on front of Rebecca.

The kitchen door opened and Pete, Carlos, another man in a blue shirt with a red cap; Nick, and a teenage girl with red rimmed glasses; Sarah, stepped inside. "What happened?" Carlos asked, stepping closer to the upset child.

Luke handed Carlos the note and turned to face Nick, giving him a warning glare as if saying 'don't do anything stupid to upset her more!'

Sarah stepped forward and looked at Clementine closely. "She's so cute!" she exclaimed.

Clementine turned her head slightly to face the new girl. Her teary face scanned the people in the room, giving Nick an extra-long stare before landing on Rebecca. "Better?" she asked, wiping the tears off the little girl tanned face.

"Want Chrisa…" Clementine sobbed as her lip quivered. "Aw, it's okay ,baby girl." Rebecca said, putting her hand on the back of Clementine's head and rocking her gently. There were quiet murmurs from the others in the room but Clementine just focused on Rebecca's quiet humming. The pregnant woman finally calmed the little girl down and smiled at the small child in her arms.

"Are you tired? I think its past your bedtime." She said. Clementine nodded and yawned before laying her head back against the pregnant woman breast. "Here, Sarah. Why don't you take her to bed?" Rebecca asked, handing the girl to Sarah.

Clementine eyed Sarah suspiciously before relaxing into her arms. "Okay!" Sarah said as she approached the door with her new friend.

"Night, Clementine." Alvin said.

"Night night…" she responded, not even half as happy as she had been when they first met.

Sarah carried Clementine up the stairs into a room with a double bed in the corner. She sat Clementine down on the side of the bed and smiled down at her. "Ready to sleep?" she asked.

Clementine nodded her head but looked up at Sarah scared. "Stay!" she begged, putting her hands out and grasping Sarah's shirt.

"Okay, Clem. I'll stay." She laughed, laying down on the edge of the bed.

Clementine cuddled close to her warming Sarah up straight away. They had only been lying there for a few minutes when Sarah heard the soft snores coming from the young girl. She held her closer and went to sleep.

Carlos came up to check on the girls a little time later and found them both asleep in each other's arms. Luke peeked his head into the room. "Everything alright?" he asked.

"Yeah. They're both asleep…" Carlos whispered, walking back out of the room.

"Good." Luke said, stepping back to let Carlos out.

"We need to have a meeting about what we're going to do with the girl." Carlos explained.

"What?! We're keeping her, Carlos! She won't survive out there, you know that! I mean, you're a doctor for crying out loud! What if she gets sick or something?" Luke asked.

He wasn't willing to let Clementine go.

She was growing on him already and they only met a few hours before.

* * *

**Chapter 2:**

* * *

Down in the kitchen, the group gathered to discuss what they were going to do with the three year old little Clementine. Everyone was standing around the sink and stove, leaning against the counter or standing with their arms crossed across their chest.

"We don't have the supplies…" Carlos stated, a hint of sadness in his voice. He didn't want to abandon the little girl, but he had his own daughter to take care of and didn't want to run out of food or medicine.

"But we have the skills! You're a dad; you know how to take care of a little girl. Even Rebecca seems willing to play her part!" Luke argued, stepping away from the counter and into the middle of the floor.

"We can keep her safe. This 'Christa' woman really desnt want this girl to die…" Nick spoke up, taking his best friends side in the argument. He hadn't even really talked much with the girl and he was always a little cold hearted, but he wasn't the devil; he wasn't agreeing to leave a little girl t die alone in the woods.

"I agree." Pete said, putting his hand on his nephews shoulder. He knew Nick was hot headed and it was good to see him thinking straight for once.

"We have to do this!" Alvin exclaimed, placing a loving hand on his wife's stomach. Rebecca smiled at him before turning to Luke, who had cleared his throat to talk again.

"She isn't like kids from before the apocalypse; she understands the world is bad, plus she seems to be strong willed; able to keep a calm enough head in tough situations. She _is _only three, and she's bound to act her age, but I think she has a chance!" he explained proudly.

"She's _quite_ the little girl…" Rebecca stated, remembering how easy it was to calm her down after receiving the devastating new of Christa probable death. Her words surprised most of the cabin members as she usually didn't trust, or necessarily liked other people beside the friends she was living with now.

Everyone's eyes slowly went back towards Carlos.

Nick cleared his throat before speaking on behalf of everyone. "We ain't gonna keep her if you don't wanna. It's a group decision and if you say no, then we'll… we'll put her back where Luke and Pete found her." He said, diverting his eyes to the floor sadly. When he locked ocean blue his eyes with Clementine's teary amber ones a while back, he saw something he hadn't seen in a long time; Hope, Love, and a questionable glare, which was strange coming from a three year old.

A small smile appeared on the doctor's face. "This is the first time we've all seen eye to eye…" he said, amusement clear in his tone. "She can stay."

A few quiet cheers and sighs of relief erupted around the room as the atmosphere relaxed around everyone.

"I'll take first watch tonight. Y'all better get some sleep, 'cos it's gonna be early rising tomorrow with this little girl to take care of!" Luke said, picking up a rifle from next to the table and walking out onto the front porch.

"I'll take morning watch." Nick told the group, so they were clear that someone would be taking guard when Luke got tired and they weren't just sitting ducks out in the middle of the pines, before departing to his room.

The other cabin members retired to their beds too, but Carlos stayed downstairs and slept on the couch since Clementine and Sarah where in his bed. He decided it would be better if he just let them share until they found an alternative for the little girl.

Clementine awoke happy and hungry.

She sat up in the bed her and Sarah were sharing and turned to look at said teenager. Sarah was fast asleep, snoring softly from where she lay at the edge of the bed. It was a funny sight to see but the three year old covered her mouth to stop the giggles from waking the older girl.

Clementine diverted her eyes to the door that was open slightly, and made a plan; a childish plan, but still a plan all the same.

She crawled over Sarah, who muttered something inaudible in her sleep, and slid off the edge of the bed. A small thud echoed around the room. She turned to look at Sarah still sleeping before taking the first step forward. The wooden floor creaked quietly as Clementine made her way towards the door. She pulled the door open with little difficulty.

Deciding the stairs looked really scary, Clementine backtracked down the hall and stopped at the room next to Sarah's when she noticed the door wasn't closed all the way. She leaned her body against it and listened to it slowly creep open.

When she could finally see inside, she saw someone roll over on the double bed. Her little legs made their way towards the edge of the bed and she looked up to see her brown haired saviour from the day before.

She stuck her finger into her mouth as she reflected back to when this man had found her out in the wild with Pete. She thought about what his name was, rocking back and forth on her toes as she tried to remember it.

_"I'm Luke, and this is Pete." _

She pulled her finger out of her mouth, making a soft popping noise and smiled at the back of the mans head as she stopped rocking. "_Luke_?" she whispered. He stirred slightly but did open his eyes. "Luke!" she called louder, her voice the only noise in the room.

Luke slowly peeled his eyes open and looked forward confused since her couldn't see anything, but the small giggle from closer to the floor dragged his gaze to the little girl. He sat up and rubbed his eyes before swinging his legs over the side of the bed and smiling down at the girl who returned his greeting with a bright smile of her own.

"Morning…" he yawned, stretching his arms up in the air before letting them fall back down to his side.

Clementine raised her hands, silently asking Luke to lift her onto his knee.

"Someone's an early riser…" Luke said, rubbing his eyes to get rid of his drowsiness.

"Hungry!" she chirped, looking up at him expectantly.

He bent down and pulled her up into his arms before making his way to the door. "And what are you hungry for?" he asked.

When she didn't answer, he looked the newest member of the group in the eyes and silently scolded himself when he saw the confusion in her bright amber orbs. "What do you want to eat, Clem?" he asked, using his most basic words possible.

This was going to take some getting used to…

"I dunno." She said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Well, let's go see what's in the kitchen." Luke said, making his way down the stairs. Carlos stirred on the couch as they walked by him and made their way into the kitchen. Luke sat Clementine on the kitchen counter and pulled open the cabinets, searching for a snack for the three year old little girl.

He found a small packet of cracker and pull two of them out. "Here you go." He said, handing them to the girl. She looked at the food briefly before sticking one cracker in her mouth and crunching down on it.

Luke smiled at her as she slowly munched on the snack. "Do you want some water, or something?" he asked, leaning against the sink. She nodded her head as she finished off the first cracker.

Luke pulled a glass out of the top cabinet above the stove and poured half of the water in a glass next to the sink into it. Without thinking, he handed the glass to the girl, letting it go so she was holding it with both hands.

He stood back and yawned while Clementine lifted the glass to her lips. Luke realised his mistake too late, as the glass slipped from her right hand and spilled down her front before falling the ground and smashing into lots of little pieces. The noise caused both people in the kitchen to jump in shock.

Luke looked down at the shattered glass, mentally slapping himself for being so stupid, before lifting his head to see a soaking wet Clementine begin to cry. "Oh…naw, Clem. This ain't your fault!" he said as he stepped in the middle of the glass and pulled her off the counter.

"I'm sorry!" she sobbed, putting her hands up to her face to hide from Luke as he held her on his hip. She had never broken something before; mainly because there was nothing to break out in the dense forestry, and she was scared of the consequences.

"Shhh…Shhh, Clem. It's okay! I can clean it up!" he told her as she wailed in his arms.

He bent down to pick up the glass and showed Clementine the small glistening pieces in his hand. "Look, Clem. It's _fine! _We just need to put it in the _bin!_" he explained, as Clementine whimpered but uncovered her face to see the shards.

"Put it in the bin…" she said, repeating what Luke had told her.

"Yeah! In the bin." He sighed, standing up and approaching the small bin by the back door.

Carlos walked into the kitchen. His eyes went to Luke and Clementine by the bin and then to the broken glass on the floor. "What happened? I heard something smash." He said, approaching the duo. Clementine's lip began to quiver again because she thought Carlos was angry at her for breaking the glass.

"Clementine dropped a glass, but it's okay. No one's hurt." Luke explained, pulling the girls wet shirt away from her skin. Carlos nodded his head before bending down to pick up some of the glass.

Luke stood Clementine down and pointed to the door. "Why don't you go wait in the living room so Carlos and I can clean up in here? Do you understand?" he asked.

"Yep!" she chirped, making her way to the door. She turned to look at the two men one more time, smiling as Luke winked at her, before walking into the hall.

Her attention was instantly drawn to the front door closing and the man in the blue shirt and red cap she had glared at the night before turning to face her. He placed his rifle next to the door and slowly approached her. "Um… Hey." He said awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck as he looked down at the three year old outside the kitchen.

"Hi." She said, looking up at him curiously. "W…what's your name?" she asked shyly. Her hands remained clasped together on front of her as she waited for the man to reply to her question.

"Nick. You're Clementine, right?" he asked. She nodded her head. "What are you doing out here so early? Is someone in the kitchen?" he asked cautiously taking a step forward.

"Yeah, Luke and Carlos is there." She said pointing to the door next to her.

"Oh, okay." He said, calming down and walking past the girl into the kitchen. She saw Luke and Carlos stand up from the place where the glass had smashed to face Nick just before the door closed in her face.

She followed Luke's instructions and made her way into the living room. Pulling herself up onto the couch, she lay on her back staring at the ceiling while her hand lay against her stomach. She was bored and hungry again.

The cracker Luke had given her earlier didn't fill her at all. Her stomach rumbled as she lay on the couch and she sulked at nothing in particular.

She heard footsteps on the stairs and saw Alvin coming towards her. "Mornin', Clementine." He greeted, making his way into the kitchen. She continued to frown as her stomach begged to be filled.

A few minutes later, Rebecca and Sarah came downstairs and eyed the girl curiously. "Is something wrong?" Rebecca asked.

Clementine sat up and slouched back lazily before whining "I'm hungry!" Sarah scooped her up into her arms and turned to Rebecca.

"Have you not been fed?" the pregnant lady asked.

"I eat crackers but I'm still hungry!" the girl explained, pushing Sarah's arms down. Sarah slowly stood the girl down, getting the hint the she didn't want to be carried, but didn't expect Clementine to grab her hand and cling on tight.

"Let's go get something to eat, then." Rebecca said, leading the two girls into the kitchen where the rest of the group where.

"Luke?" Rebecca asked as she walked into the kitchen. Luke turned to smile at her, waiting for whatever was coming next. "Did you feed Clementine?"

"Yeah, I gave her some crackers." He said, smiling down at the little girl who looked away sadly. Her stomach was pleading with her to be filled but she couldn't do anything to get food except ask; which she had done already.

"Why?" he asked, looking back at Rebecca from where he sat at the table eating some oatmeal.

"She's hungry." Rebecca said, taking a seat next to her husband.

"Sarah, come eat something." Carlos said. Sarah released Clementine's hand and sat next to her father.

"Come here, Clem." Luke said, waiting for the girl to walk towards him. She dragged her little converse across the floor and stood beside Luke's chair. He bent down and pulled her up onto his lap. "Have you ever had oatmeal before?" he asked, pointing at the bowl on front of him.

She shook her head, turned to look at Nick sitting next to her and Luke, and then looked into the bowl in front of her. Luke picked up half a spoon full of his oatmeal and handed it to the little girl. She stuck the spoon in her mouth and swirled the creamy food around her tongue before swallowing it satisfied.

"More?" she asked, looking up at Luke as she gave his spoon back.

"Sure, Clem. Here you go." He scooped up another half spoon and gave it to her.

They continued this process until Clementine burped loudly, earning small fits of laughter to erupt from others around the table and jumped down off Luke's lap. "Can we play?" she asked standing on her toes to seem taller.

"There's nothing to play, Clementine. Maybe Sarah will read to you?" Alvin said, turning to see Sarah's eyes glisten with agreement.

"Yeah! Come on, Clem. I'll read you a story!" Sarah exclaimed, jumping up off her chair and approaching Clementine.

The little girl stepped back. "No! I not wanna nap!" she whined.

"You don't have to nap." Nick said, looking at the girl amused.

Whenever Christa said it was time for a story, that meant she had to take a nap. 'Story' was just another way of saying 'nap' to the three year old who had grown up with _those_ type of guardians; the one's who tricked you into things with misleading words and gestures "No!" she shouted.

Rebecca could see where this was going already. Temper tantrums were the worse.

"Calm down, we're just going to read!" Sarah said, putting her hand out for the younger girl to take.

"I don't wanna!" she shouted, pushing Sarah away as hard as she could; which wasn't very hard. She huffed and ran out of the room.

Rebecca stood up and sighed. "I'll calm her down." She said, leaving the room to find the girl. She walked into the living room to see Clementine sniffling on the floor next to the coffee table. "Clementine."

The girl flinched at the voice and sniffled louder before turning her head and glaring at the woman. "If you don't want to read, just say so. You don't have to shout." She said, slowly making her way towards the girl.

"No." Clementine said angrily.

"Clementine…" Rebecca warned.

The girl turned to face the woman with the same agitated look in her eyes. "I don't want story." She said.

"You don't want _a _story. I'm going to have to teach you how to talk properly…" Rebecca said, losing her patience with the newest member of the group.

"I can talk already…" Clementine said, her anger turning to sadness. She didn't like it when people made fun of her speech. Christa never did it, so why did this woman have to?

Rebecca just stood staring at the girl on the floor blankly. She wasn't even apologising and that made Clementine upset. Her lip began to quiver and tears blurred her vision. She pulled herself up off the floor and made her way to the couch were she climbed up onto the soft cushions and buried her head in the arm so she could cry in peace.

Rebecca sighed and was about to walk over to the girl to apologise but stopped when she heard a familiar voice call out

"Hello?" That gravelly voice could only be one person.

Carver.

"Is anyone home?" he called as someone knocked on the front door.

"Clem…Clementine! We have to go!" Rebecca whispered pulling the girl up off the couch.

"No!" Clementine cried as she fought against the pregnant woman's hold. Rebecca ended up dropping the girl back onto the couch where those huge amber eyes looked up at her so innocently as more tears fell down her face.

What she did next, she regretted instantly.

Rebecca turned and ran back into the kitchen, leaving the girl in the living room to cry her heart out. "Carver's here. We have to leave. Now!" she said, opening the back door and motioning for everyone to run.

They heard the front door open and, in a state of pure fear, panicked and ran. They couldn't afford to be caught by Carver now; not after everything they had gone through to keep away from him.

Clementine continued to cry on the couch as a man with a woolly hooded coat walked into the room. He had a gun out, closely inspecting everything around him, but as soon as he saw the girl, he put it away.

"Hey, darlin'." He said. His voice was really gravely; like he smoked six packs a day. "What's the matter? Where's your folks?" he asked approaching her slowly.

"What's a 'folks'?" she whimpered, rubbing her nose and raising a curious eye at the man.

He chuckled at her question. "Your family, sweetheart." He said.

She looked down at her hands as she remembered Christa leaving her. "Chrisa gone." She said sadly.

The man sat beside her and offered her a comforting smile. "Well, if you want, I'm the leader, the _boss_, of a camp not far from here. Do you wanna come with me?" he asked.

He made sure she understood what he was asking so he wouldn't have to drag her out of the cabin when the time came to leave. He could tell she was young and probably wouldn't understand his accent.

Clementine thought about it for a minute. This man didn't seem so bad. He looked healthy and strong and he wasn't _mean_ like the person who killed Omid. Maybe this was a good thing. "Who are you?" she asked quietly.

"My name's William Carver. But you can call me Bill; or Carver if that suits your fancy." He introduced himself.

Clementine kneeled up and smiled at Carver. "_My name's _Clementine! _But you c…call me _Clem." She giggled as she repeated what the man had said to introduce himself.

"That's a beautiful name, Clementine. How old are you?" he asked, smiling at her from where he sat.

"I'm this many!" she exclaimed, raising three fingers; her index finger, her middle finger and her ring finger on her left hand.

Carver raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms before leaning back in his chair. He couldn't keep around a three year old unless she was already somewhat ready for the challenges ahead. If she couldn't even count to three, then he couldn't bring her with him. "How many is that?" he asked.

She pointed to her index finger, counting "One." Then she pointed to her middle finger and said "Two." before sliding her counting finger to her left ring finger and chirping "Three!" Carver smiled down at the survivor her had recently come across.

"Well done, Clementine. How about we get going?" he asked, quickly eyeing one of Carlos's shirts and smirking as he stood up.

She stood up on the couch and put out her hands, ready for him to carry her.

Carver's face hardened for a minute as he was not so keen on 'being nice', but this girl could grow into a strong leader with his guidance and he was prepared to treat her like his own if that's what it took.

He gently pulled her up with his right hand and sat her on his hip before making his way to the door.

He knew she had been in contact with his missing group members, that shirt had given him all the evidence he needed, and by taking this girl under his wing, he was gaining a valuable member to his community and luring his lost causes back to him like moths to a flame.

* * *

"Where's Clem?!" Luke stopped dead in his tracks, tripping Nick who was running behind him.

Everyone turned to face Rebecca. She just stared at the dirty trail underneath her. "Bec? Where is she?" Alvin asked. He cared for the girl; she was only a baby and needed all the care she could get.

"In…In the living room." Rebecca admitted.

"What?! You didn't bring her?" Sarah squealed. Carlos put his hand on her shoulder. "What should we do?" he asked, turning to Pete for advice since he was the oldest, and dare say, wisest man around.

"We should go back for her!" he said, as if it was obvious.

"I agree." Both Nick and Luke said in unison.

"Carver's there! We can't go back!" Rebecca tried to explain but no one was listening.

"If he lays a finger on her, I'll kill him…" Nick muttered, turning around and facing the way they had run from. Pete was surprised that Nick was saying that, as he was never keen on being close to others beside family members.

"Come on. We're burning daylight!" Luke shouted before running back the way they came with everyone following; even Rebecca.

They ran for about ten minutes; half the time it took them to get to where the started backtracking since they wanted to get to Clementine quickly and save her from the mad man they used to work for.

They burst through the back door and into the kitchen, it didn't look like much had happened.

Luke quickly ran into the living room where, once again, everything looked un-touched. One thing was missing though. "Where is she?!" he gasped, spinning around in his spot in the middle of the room. She wasn't in the living room, _that_ was pretty clear.

Nick led the rest of the group into the living room and frowned when he didn't see Clementine with Luke. "She's not anywhere else in the house…" he said, since he had done a quick sweep of the house, not finding the girl anywhere.

Rebecca felt terrible for leaving the girl for the madman to take, or hurt, or worse. "I…I'm sorry…" she apologised.

She received a few glares but they were quickly brushed off as Luke stood forward, shaking his head. "It's okay… We can get her back!" he said, hitting his right fist into his left hand, almost as if hammering something down.

"How are we gonna do that? We don't know where he's taken her!" Pete asked, clearly not as open minded as his nephew's friend.

"We'll head out; search for her! And _when_ we find her, we can bring her back here." He explained.

"Sounds like a plan." Nick exclaimed, stepping next to his bud and standing tall.

"Let's go!" Sarah chirped, pulling her father towards the front door.

"I really am sorry…" Rebecca whispered as Luke, Nick and Pete walked out of the room and headed for the front door.

"It's alright, Bec. It ain't your fault." Alvin told her, smiling at her lovingly and then motioning for her to follow the others.

She smiled back at him and started out the front door, in search of little Clementine.

* * *

**Chapter 3:**

* * *

"Where we going?" Clementine asked, playing with Carver's hood.

"To the truck. It's just up ahead." He said, pushing her hand away from his ear. She was a very curious little girl. "Stop messing, Clementine." He said, his normal anger scaring the girl.

She stopped what she was doing and frowned at the ground. Carver didn't realise how long he had been listening to her asking questions or humming curiously until she stopped.

They came upon a white truck a few minutes later and three people surrounding it. "_What _is _that?_!" a man in an army cargo jacket asked rudely. He had an AK-47 in his hands.

"She's adorable!" a lady with ginger hair said in a southern accent; which reminded the girl of Luke, Nick and Pete.

"You found a _kid_?! Did you steal her?" another man with a green hat asked, clearly unamused by the presence of the child.

Carver rolled his eyes but stood tall in front of the people. "This is Clementine. I found her '_alone'_ in some cabin, not too far from here actually." he explained. He handed Clementine over to the woman, who gratefully took the girl in her arms and smiled down at her. "Hello, sweetie." She greeted, fixing her grip on the child.

"Hi…" Clementine said unsurely. She didn't know if she could trust these people. They gave her a bad feeling in her stomach; she wished she had just let Rebecca pick her up back at the cabin.

"It's alright, I ain't gonna hurt you. My name's Bonnie, darlin'." Bonnie introduced herself, giving Carver a sideways glance before looking back at the three year old.

The man with the green hat approached Carver and sighed. "I've got some bad news…" he muttered.

Carver's eyebrows furrowed together as he stared into the other man's eyes. "Well, what is it?" he hissed.

The man looked over his shoulder to the scary man with the gun and then back to Carver. "That asshole over there, forgot to fill the tank. We're stuck out here 'till someone comes out here to get us." He explained.

"Troy!" Carver roared, causing the man with the gun to drop his weapon and turn to face the leader. Carver just stared at him angrily.

"C'mere Johnny…" Bonnie called, causing the man with the hat to make his way towards her and Clementine. "Hope he gets the shit beaten out of him…" Johnny muttered as he got closer to the two girls.

"Don't be using that language! We've got a little one now." Bonnie said, smiling down at Clementine who smiled back happily.

Johnny shrugged his shoulder before turning to face the truck. "We'll be camping out here for the night. In the cold. It might even rain…" He said, obviously annoyed that Troy forgot to put gas in the truck.

"It'll be alright, Johnny. You need to start thinking positive; ain't that right, Clem?" Bonnie said enthusiastically.

"Yep!" the girl chirped giving Johnny her best smile. She saw a small smile appear on his face but he quickly cleared his throat and put back on his blank expression. "Yeah, well that's easier said than done…" he muttered.

Bonnie shook her head, since she also noticed his small smirk, but didn't say anything. "Well, seems we've got a long day ahead of us. What do you wanna do, sweetie?" she asked, turning away from Johnny and paying full attention to Clementine. The girl shrugged her shoulders and gave Johnny's back a curious look.

"I think you'll like Johnny. He tries to act tough and emotionless but he's not at all bad once you get to know 'em." Bonnie explained.

Clementine nodded her head before tasting something familiar as her tongue slid across her back teeth. "Do you have a cookie?" she asked. That sweetness in her mouth made her crave for more.

Bonnie laughed. "Naw, Clem. Haven't had cookies since this whole thing happened." Clementine frowned before locking eyes with the woman. "I gived some of my cookie Luke…" she whispered.

Bonnie almost dropped the girl. "You know Luke?!" she whispered, holding Clementine closer.

"Yeah! And Sarah, and Pete!" she said excitedly.

Bonnie couldn't help but laugh at the young girl's statement. "Are they okay? Does Carver know?!" she suddenly remembered the situation and worried about her old friends.

"They're at a big house! _ALL_ the way back there." Clementine explained, pointing back the way her and Carver came. The cabin was pretty small but to her it was huge.

"Shhh… We can't let Carver hear!" the freckled woman whispered harshly. She didn't want to get her friends into trouble, even though they did leave her behind; but that was her choice and she couldn't blame them.

"Why? Will he get mad?" the three year old asked.

"He's not all bad, Clem. But he can be a bit… overactive… sometimes." Bonnie explained. After seeing the fear in the girl eyes, she rubbed small circles on the toddlers back and said "Don't worry. You can stick with me and we'll stay out of his way; stay on his good side, alright?"

Clementine agreed, not vocalising her thoughts with her new 'friend' just in case she wasn't as nice as she came across in the first ten minutes of meeting.

"Bonnie! Come 'ere." Troy called.

Bonnie sighed and started making her way over to her hot headed group member, but stopped abruptly and turned to Johnny. "Keep an eye on her." She demanded as she handed Clementine to him.

"What?! You know I don't like children…" he protested, awkwardly shifting his hold on the little girl.

"Just hold her!" Bonnie laughed, finally heading towards Troy and Carver.

"Uh… You wanna sit down?" Johnny asked, frowning down at the girl in his arms. "Down." She nodded her head. She liked Bonnie and she could handle Johnny's presence but she didn't want him carrying her.

He stood her down carefully before sitting down next to the truck. He gave the girl an awkward glance before patting the ground next to him. "You gonna sit or not?" he asked.

Clementine looked over to Bonnie, Carver and Troy, debating whether to stick with Johnny or stick her nose in the other's business. She looked Johnny in the eyes from where he sat next to her, seeing no trace of happiness or fun, before taking a step away from him, towards Carver, Troy and Bonnie.

She was pulled back when a hand clasped her arm and gripped on tightly. She fell on her back side before she was pulled up under her arms and stood on front of Johnny, who then released her from his grip.

She frowned at him, before complaining. "Ow…" she whimpered, giving an annoyed, sad glare at the man kneeling on front of her.

"You can't go over there, kid. I just saved you're a- I just saved you from a beating." Johnny explained, brushing some leaves off the girls little pants. He shared a worried glance with Bonnie, who had watched what just happened, but the moment was quickly ended when Troy nudged Bonnie's arm causing her to jump in surprise and face the leader again.

Clementine's glare turned to a confused squint. "What's a 'beating'?" she asked. Ever since she had met these new people, she had been learning a lot of new words, phrases and sentences.

Johnny sat back on his feet and raised an eyebrow at the girl. "You don't know what beatings are? How old _are_ you!?" he asked. He didn't think she was any older than five, but he also didn't think she was any younger.

"Three!" she chirped, repeating her age for about the tenth time in the last two days.

Johnny's eye widened, but he quickly shook it off. "Okay. A beating is a slap, a punch, a kick, when someone hits you pretty much…" Johnny explained. He patted the ground next to him as he saw his words swimming around in the little girl's eyes; her mind processing what he had just said.

"Now, just sit here next to me, and behave! You don't want Bill getting angry…" he said, watching as the girl quickly sat next to him, a little too close for his liking, but he didn't complain since he had decided to take Bonnie's word this time.

_"We've got a little one now."_

They sure did.

* * *

"Clementine." Hearing her name, the girl stood up from she had been sitting next to Johnny for the last ten or twenty minutes and approached Carver, wondering why he had called her over.

She looked up at him with, an eerie silence lingering in the air around them. "You haven't met Troy yet." He said, putting his hand on the gun man's shoulder. Tory just glared down at her, which scared her more than when Johnny had done it a while before.

"It's good manners to say 'hello'." The leader said, clearly upset that his newest member had no manners.

"Hello…" Clementine said, looking up at Troy expecting a smile, but being greeted with an even meaner glare instead. Both of the men on front of little Clementine were making her grow more scared by the second. She really regretted leaving the cabin with Carver now.

"Bill! Walkers!" Bonnie shouted, as a gunshot filled the air. A few birds flew from the trees surrounding the trail that the small group and truck were stranded on as many moans and groans filled the ghostly silence that followed the single gunshot.

"Shit…" Troy groaned before running to the other side of the truck to help Bonnie keep the approaching walkers at bay. Carver gave Johnny a quick look, pointed at the small girl on front of him and followed after Troy. Johnny knew Carver wanted him to take care of the child.

"How many times do I have to say it? _I don't like children_!" he shouted agitatedly.

He ran to Clementine's side but froze when he saw the small gang of undead beings slowly limping towards him and the toddler. He looked down at the trembling girl who returned the gaze, silently begging him to get them away. Johnny didn't have a gun so killing the walkers was not an option.

With a troubled sigh, her lifted the girl up and ran into the trees. "Bonnie! Clear a path back!" he shouted behind him, causing the three heads of his fellow survivors to spin in his direction.

"On it!" she shouted, but that was unheard as Carver screamed Johnny's name angrily. "I'm going to bring him back." The leader said, sprinting after the toddler and her 'minder'.

Johnny wasn't running that fast; Clementine clinging to his shirt was not speeding him up either. "Calm down, kid. We're safe…" he tried to reassure the girl, but she just clung to him tighter. He stopped running and turned around to see if Carver had chased him. That man didn't trust him at all.

He opened his mouth to try once again to make the girl release his shirt, but stopped when he heard a gun click behind him. "Johnny?" a familiar voice asked, sounding shocked; almost as shocked as Johnny was to be hearing that person. One of the people he had been dragged out to find…

He slowly turned around to be faced with seven people he did not expect to be out in the open; vulnerable to Carver's wrath.

"That's our girl." Luke said, raising his gun at the man just as Nick had been doing since he saw their old acquaintance with Clementine.

Johnny looked down at Clementine, who turned her huge smile away from the cabin group and up to him. "Looks like this is goodbye, kid." He said, finally _smiling_ down at the child in his arms.

"You leaving?" she asked, her smile turning upside down. She had grown to like Johnny just as much as he had grown to like her; more actually.

He quickly pushed the girl into Carlos's arms and stepped back a few steps. "You better get, before Carver comes and-" Johnny was cut off by his name echoing through the trees. "Go!" he demanded, practically pleading with the group to leave.

They did has he commanded, turning on their heels and running as fast as they could. Clementine watched from over Carlos's shoulder as Carver and Troy came into view next to Johnny.

She couldn't tear her eyes away as Carver raised his fist and hit Johnny straight across the left side of his face, knocking him to the ground.

She gasped and tried to break out of Carlos's hold, but she was too small and weak and just ended up watching as the man that saved her disappeared into the distance; surrounded by the worst people on earth.

* * *

Clementine had just witnessed a 'beating' on the very man that had explained to her not too long ago what a beating was.

Her eyes were tightly closed as she sat in Carlos's arms, her head against his chest as she tried her best to ignore the small chatter of the others in the group.

Luke and Nick were arguing at the front of the group while Pete followed close behind. Alvin was helping Rebecca walk since her pregnancy was taking a lot out of the woman, and Sarah was sticking close to Carlos and Clementine at the back of the group.

Carlos occasionally rubbed small circles on the three year olds back as she hadn't spoken since they got her back from Johnny, and he knew she was upset or scared. "We're heading south." Nick stated, pointing to an area on the map that he thought they were located at.

"For the last time, we are here, and we're headed this way; which is NORTH!" Luke explained for the fifth time, pointing to the map he and Nick had a hold of. Luke knew Nick wasn't the best co-ordinator, but he didn't know his friend from twenty years was that bad!

"Would you two ever stop? You're worse than Clem or Sarah…" Alvin spoke up, amusement clear in his voice. Luke turned around and smirked at the man with the yellow coat while Nick continued to study the map.

Sarah joined Pete's side and Carlos joined Rebecca and Alvin. Rebecca gave Clementine a sorrowful look as the youngest group member finally opened her eyes. Her gaze fell right onto Rebecca's and she grabbed a handful of Carlos's shirt.

"I'm sorry…" the woman apologised, causing every head to turn her way and witness what was happening.

Clementine calmed down a little and searched in Rebecca's brown eyes for any hint of a lie. Finding no trace of deceit, Clementine simply nodded her head in forgiveness and relaxed back into Carlos's hold; releasing his shirt.

Since the group's attention was locked on the young girl and pregnant woman, Carlos decided to finally speak up. "I think we're far enough away from Carver to stop and take a break. I need to check Clementine for any injuries too…" he explained. He tried asking her a few times was she hurt but got no answer.

Pete watched as the toddlers eyes made their way to his. "I'll take her so you can check." He said, making his way over to the doctor, who willingly handed the girl over without any complaints.

Pete took a seat on the dirt riddled trail and sat little Clementine on his legs. Luke and Nick took a seat next to Pete, watched, listened and hoped everything was alright with the girl; that she had chosen to go mute because she was hungry or tired, not because she was hurt or scared.

Rebecca and Sarah also sat down, talking about how it was getting colder and what names to call the baby. "What if it's a girl?" Sarah asked.

"I was thinking maybe we could call her… Hope." Rebecca said, smiling softly to herself. She wanted the baby to be called Hope to symbolise new hope in the group. If it was a boy however, she wasn't sure what to call it.

"That's a beautiful name!" Sarah said in awe. It was good having the raven haired teenager around. She was always good for a smile and made you forget about the way the world was for a few minutes. It was refreshing.

Alvin was keeping an eye out for the enemy; Carver, his gang and walkers. They really had no allies in the world anymore except for each other.

"Squeeze my finger?" Carlos asked, holding his hand out to the girl with the D marked cap. She lifted her left hand and squeezed the doctor's index finger hard. "Good. How about your other hand?" he asked. She squeezed it again with her other hand.

She didn't understand why she had to do these weird exercises, but didn't ask. Ever since watching Johnny get hit, she couldn't bring herself to talk. She felt that her voice had been ripped away from her; like watching that man get hurt, had caused her some sort of invisible pain inside her, but she didn't know for sure.

Carlos took her right leg in his hand and bent it slowly and carefully. "No pain?" he asked.

She shook her head.

The doctor raised an eyebrow. "Is there something wrong with your voice?" he asked. Clementine narrowed her gaze before shaking her head. Carlos backed down but was still concerned.

"Why ain't you speaking if there's nothing wrong?" Nick questioned from where he sat next to Pete and Clementine.

Luke nudged his friend before speaking, "Leave her alone. It's alright if you don't wanna talk, Clem. You've probably been through hell and back with Carver…" Clementine smiled at the brunette man while Carlos continued his examination. Of course, her saviour smiled back, not questioning her silence at all.

"Yeah Nick. Leave her be. Do you not remember that time you almost gut shot me and wouldn't speak for a we-"

"Uncle Pete!" Nick moaned, burying his head in his hands.

Luke chuckled at the memory that Pete always used to embarrass Nick whenever the moment came available. It worked like a charm every time.

"Well, it seems there's no injury. She's good to go." Carlos finished his check up and stood up off the ground.

Pete stood up but kept a hold of the girl. She saw Luke and Nick sloppily pulled themselves up off the ground, almost falling over each other. Clementine couldn't hold back the giggle.

"Seems someone's feeling a little better." Pete commented. He had been keeping a close eye on the kid while Carlos carried her. To him, she looked shaken, broken and confused, but now she seemed back to her normal self; happy and smiling. She still hadn't talked yet, and that worried the man, but he was willing to leave it a little longer before taking precautionary steps and getting her to use her words.

She smiled at him sweetly before, much to his surprise, wrapping her arms around his torso the best she could and whispering, "Story?"

She leaned back and looked up at him with sleepy eyes. "You tired?" he asked. It was the word 'story' that had caused so much havoc in the first place. Was it really such a good idea telling her one?

Clementine nodded her head; quickly scanning a few smiling faces around her that had heard her speak, before looking back up at Pete, awaiting him to start.

"Tell you what, you tell me what kind of story you want, and I'll tell you one. Deal?" he asked, shifting his hold on her so she sat more comfortably in his arms.

Clementine's eyebrows furrowed together in thought. She caught Nick's eye and an idea came to her. "How did Nick...'gut shot'…you?" she asked, her voice entering everyone's ears this time.

Pete laughed from his stomach and nodded at the child's request. "Well, it all started when I took Nick out hunting for the first time; he wasn't much older than eleven…" Pete began his story, while everyone else listened in.

They had all heard this story before, but the look on Nick's face every time the oldest man in the group told it, was worth another listen.

The group were entertained for now as they made their way to the mountains up North.

It was going to take them a few days, Luke knew that, but he'd break that news to the others later…

* * *

**Chapter 4:**

* * *

"Five more days?!" was Rebecca's reaction to Luke's 'bad news'. Now that their first day was over, she was dreading five more.

No one else was really worried about the long walk ahead, except for Carlos, who had stated that his daughter and the newest member of their group wouldn't be able to walk that long.

Luke quickly brushed it off, explaining his plan to carry Clementine most of the way (which she immediately complained about) and taking short breaks when Sarah needed them. That shut the doctor right up.

Day one:

Luke took the lead, keeping his machete close at hand just in case they came upon some trouble. Carlos and Sarah walked behind him, Carlos making sure they didn't get lost and that Luke stayed on guard. Nick and Pete where next, quietly arguing about stupid little things that relatives always argued about, and Alvin, Rebecca and Clementine were at the back; Clementine standing in between the couple, holding Rebecca's hand for comfort.

"Well, if it's a boy, I say we call him Alvin; after his old man!" Alvin exclaimed, sticking his hands in his pockets and smiling ahead as he thought about their baby.

"Alright, alright! If it's a boy we can call him Alvin. So it's settled; a girl, Hope, or a boy, Alvin." Rebecca explained.

The two grownups looked down at Clementine before Alvin spoke. "What do you think, Clem?" he asked.

She looked up at him with a cute smile. "Yeah! They're nice names!" she beamed up at him. She had been fixing her sentences for the past two days, and was finally getting the hang of it.

She turned her head to the left to look up at Rebecca with raised eyebrows, awaiting some praise. "I'm glad you like them. I also see you're improving your speech. Well done, Clementine!" the pregnant woman applaud the girl.

She was proud of herself, little Clem, but she couldn't shake the feeling of hatred towards herself. She had hated many things before; water, fire, heights, cannibals, being lifted, the cold, but she had never hated herself. Ever since leaving Johnny to get beaten by Carver, she felt as though he was mad at her; and if he was upset her, she was upset herself. She had let him down, in her eyes, and she could never forgive herself for it.

"Can I go up there?" she asked, pointing with her right hand through the people ahead of her. Rebecca let her left hand go and nodded her head.

Clementine squeezed through Pete and Nick, only to be grabbed under the arms and lifted upside down by the old man. She squealed in surprise, grabbing her cap just before it fell from her head. Pete chuckled before spinning the three year old the right way round and holding her like a baby. "Where are you going?" he asked.

Nick smiled at the two of them but quickly turned away, trying to keep his cool status with everyone else.

"Nowhere!" she smiled up him. Pete narrowed his eyes at her, which cause her to giggle, before releasing a satisfied sigh.

"Alright." His gruff voice, calm and quiet. He turned to look at Nick, before a cunning smirk appeared on his face. "How about Nick carries you for a while?" he asked, receiving a glare from his nephew.

"No thanks." The young man mumbled. He didn't know how to handle kids; especially fussy kids who might cry or squirm in his arms. "Come on, son!" Pete insisted, already handing the girl to Nick.

He had no other choice, either take the girl or drop her.

It took him a minute to sit her in his arms properly. She looked up at him curiously. It was awkward, staring down into her amber eyes which didn't seem to blink. "Do you, uh, wanna walk?" he asked, pleading with his eyes for her to say yes. She nodded her head.

He was about to stand her down, but Carlos turned around and stopped him. "No! Carry her until we get out of the muddy part of the trail." The Spanish man said. Nick was so focused on the girl in his arms, that he didn't notice the mud sticking to his shoes.

With a defeated sigh, he held Clementine closer and locked eyes with her once again. "Shit… How about we face you the other way?" he muttered. He spun her around one hundred and eighty degrees so she was facing forward.

She sat on one of his arms while the other was wrapped around her stomach; kind of like the rollercoasters at them crappy carnivals him and Luke used to go to when they were younger.

She put both her hands on the arm around her stomach before catching the whole group's attention. "Vroom, vroom! Beep!" she giggled as she pretended she was driving the Nick car.

Luke was the first to start laughing; his snort activating the others laughs, until everyone was in fits of giggles, even Nick. "What are you doing?" Nick asked, holding onto her tighter so he wouldn't drop her as she wiggled around in his arms.

"I'm a driving!" she exclaimed.

"A driver?" Nick asked, correcting her sentence. He was surprised she even knew what a car and driver was, so mispronouncing it wasn't that odd from the three year old.

"I'm a driver?" she lolled her head back as far as it could go against Nick's chest to look up at him, awaiting an answer. "Yeah, Clem…" he sighed, stifling a laugh as the others quieted down.

They walked through the mud for about twenty minutes before it was safe to put the little one down. As soon as Nick bent down to stand her on her own two feet, however, she started whining. "No! I wanna stay!" she complained, holding onto his arms for dear life.

Nick didn't want to carry her anymore. His arms ached since he was also handling a gun as he kept a hold on the girl. "I'm tired, Clementine. I can't carry you anymore." He tried explaining to her, but she wouldn't have it.

"But, Nick…" she pouted up at him and locked her amber eyes back onto his dazzling blue ones.

Luke saw his friend struggling to keep the girl satisfied so approached them both and tried to help. "How about you come with me, Clem? You can hold my hand and help be the leader until Nick's not tired anymore." He asked. He made sure he had the girl's attention before giving her his best puppy dog eyes. She noticed it and smirked at the orange shirted man.

"I'll be leader?" she asked innocently. She enjoyed being up so high and being able to see everything in Nick's arms, but if she was going to the front to be boss with Luke, then she wasn't going to say no.

"Yeah, Clem. You're in charge…" Luke said, regretting his decision of words as soon as they left his mouth.

Clementine beamed up at him and released her grip on Nick so he could stand her down. She took Luke's hand and followed him to the front of the group.

Every time Luke slowed down to check the map, she pulled him ahead faster. When he turned to talk to Carlos, she demanded him to look forward and keep his eyes on the path.

"Bet you regret taking her now, don't you?" Nick whispered into Luke's ear after seeing him struggle keeping up with the girl.

Luke just sighed, and turned to look at the girl holding his left hand tightly.

"This is gonna be a long day…"

Day two: 

The group had stopped to eat something. The sun was setting up ahead but Luke was determined to keep walking until dark.

"Sarah, would you bring her over here?" Carlos asked his daughter who was trying to keep Clementine from wandering off by herself.

"Yeah, dad!" the raven haired teen shouted to her dad who was sitting by a small makeshift fire with Rebecca. Alvin was using the toilet, Pete was keeping watch, and Luke and Nick where chatting amongst themselves by the tree's near Sarah and Clementine.

"Clem, my dad need's us." Sarah tried to take the girl hand, but being the three year old she was, Clementine denied to be taken so easily. "Tag!" she shouted, pushing Sarah's leg and running off.

"Clem, wait!" Sarah said, catching up the younger girl quickly, but missing her chance to get a hold of her. Sarah turned to Carlos, and pointed to Clementine.

"Clementine." He warned. The toddler ignored him, but stopped running and turned to face Sarah. She stuck out her tongue, which made Sarah run towards her, before getting away again.

Alvin came back from his toilet break and stood between Nick and Luke, watching Sarah struggle to catch Clementine. "Do you think we should help out?" he asked, turning the two younger men's attention to the two girls running around the trail.

"How hard can it be?" Nick asked, shrugging his shoulder and leading Alvin away from the treeline.

Luke sighed, "It probably is gonna be way harder than we think…"

Alvin blocked the toddler's path, which caused her to smirk since she had a plan. Alvin was prepared to scoop her up into his arms, as she wasn't slowing down, but instead, he missed the girl as she crawled under his legs quickly.

"Get her dad!" Sarah yelled, watching as Clementine ran behind Carlos before he could even turn around.

The sound of the toddlers shoe dragging through the dirt heavier than usual, caused everyone to gasp and turn her direction. She had tripped, but instead of falling onto her stomach or face, was caught and stood back down.

"Be careful." Pete warned, smiling down at the girl. She smiled back up at him before dodging Nick's grasp from behind.

"What the hell?! You could've caught her!" he bellowed at his uncle, but Pete just shrugged his shoulder.

"I'd rather see you make a fool of yourself…" he smirked at his nephew's exhaustion from chasing after the hyper kid.

Nick gave up and sat down next to Rebecca. "Luke will get her, eventually…" he said, looking at Rebecca's amused smile. "She'll burn herself out soon and then she'll just walk into your arms. All children are like that." She explained.

Carlos nodded his head. "That's what Sarah was like. We used to let her play in the garden until she tired herself out. Then she would come in and beg us to put her to bed." He smiled at the memory.

Alvin was next to give up. He was panting after all the exercise of running around. "Damn… I hope our baby ain't as hyper as her." He murmured, wiping some sweat off his forehead.

"With Clem around, our baby will be twice as hyper!" Rebecca laughed. She was getting more and more excited about bringing a baby into the world. Before Clementine came along, she didn't think it was possible to raise a child in the apocalypse, but now, she was certain that she and Alvin's baby would be okay.

Sarah blocked Clementine path as Luke pounced at her from behind. Of course, he missed and tripped, landing on his stomach with a thud. He rolled onto his back and covered his eyes with his hands, out of breath from the impossible task he took on.

He felt a small weight make its self onto his stomach and two small hands lay against his chest. He uncovered his eyes to see Clementine sitting on him panting lightly from all the ninja skills she pulled off for the last half hour.

"I win…" she whispered, smiling down at the man under her.

He didn't hesitate to sit up and wrap his arms around her, pulling her close to his body. "You little…" he panted, squeezing her softly. She giggled into his chest as he stood up and brought her over to fire where everyone else had gathered.

"Finally…" Nick exclaimed, smirking at his dirt covered friend.

"Now, we can finally eat." Alvin rubbed his hands together as Carlos and Pete handed around small cans of beans they had found at the cabin. They were running out so they were going to have to use them wisely.

Luke shared with Clementine, who was hungry after her game of 'tag'. As Luke finished up the last of their beans, he noticed Clementine had fallen asleep on his lap. A small smile crept onto his face. "We all ready to move?" he asked, standing up with Clementine snuggled up in his arms.

"Is she asleep?" Rebecca and Sarah asked in unison. Luke nodded his head.

"I'll carry her 'till we stop for the rest of the night." He whispered as the toddler made herself comfier in his arms.

"Let's go."

Day 3:

"Nick!" the childish call made Nick curse under his breath. He stopped walking and turned around to face Rebecca and Clementine looking his way.

"Yeah?" he asked, already sensing it was something he wasn't going to like. Rebecca released the girls hand and she ran up to him, raising her hands in the air. "Up!" she demanded, using one hand to fix her cap over her curls.

"I don't think I can, Clem. I- My arms- You can- Are you tired?" he stuttered, trying his best to get out of babysitting the child. She pouted and let her arms fall to her side.

After that, she walked next to him but didn't speak a word. Every few minutes, Nick would look down to his right to see if she was still there, and every time, she was. It was strange; the silence that filled the air made him feel on edge.

He couldn't handle it anymore and cleared his throat. "Do you still want to be carried?" he asked, watching as a few ears perked up from the other cabin members, who had also grown concerned by the silence.

The girl just shook her head. She looked upset, angry, distracted; a general mixture of bad emotions. Nick thought it was his fault she wasn't talking, but it was something else that had kept her mouth closed.

At first, she had remained quiet from where she stood next to Nick, waiting for him to offer to carry her, feeling as happy as always. That changed when the silence gave her time to reflect on things that had happened in the past.

She remembered Lee saving her life a whole bunch of times. Like when the train stopped working and she followed him into the station outside of Savannah. That walker almost had her, but Lee killed it.

* * *

_"That was close…" Lee panted, lifting Clementine into his arms. _

_"It almost eat me!" the girl cried in fear. Lee held her close and rocked her gently. _

_"It's alright, sweet pea. I'd never let anything happen to you." He assured her. _

_"Me too!" she nodded her head as best she could as she lay it against his chest. "The dark scary…" she mumbled, looking around the dark station warily._

_ Lee chuckled as he faced the door. "Yeah, Clem. It is. Let's get out into the light…" Clementine agreed with her guardian and they walked outside into the summer breeze._

* * *

She remembered Christa always being there for her, even when Omid had gone.

* * *

_"We'll be okay, Clementine. I promise!" Christa said, keeping a tight hold of her hand. _

_"The woman dead?" she asked, frowning up at her last friend. Well, her second last friend. Omid was just sleeping back in the rest stop. He'd catch up to them in a while, right? _

_"Yeah, sweetie. We gotta go find somewhere safe." Christa explained. _

_"Safe is good!" Clementine stated, nodding her head to the plan. _

_"And then maybe we can share another cookie… what do you think?" the woman asked, giving Clementine her best smile, although she felt terrible after what had just happened. _

_The toddler wiped a stray tear off her cheek that she must've missed a few minutes before; after that scary girl was shouting at her and Omid. "Yummy! Cookie!" she beamed up at Christa. _

_"Yummy…" Christa repeated, her voice faltering slightly. _

* * *

Clementine thought about her old friends, Duck especially. He was much older than her, almost by seven years. Nick reminded her of her goofy buddy. Duck would always give her piggy back rides and play games with her. He was almost as hyper as her!

* * *

_"Clem… psst!" Duck whispered loudly from where he hid around the corner. _

_Clementine turned to face him from her spot on the ground beside the chairs where Katjaa had been keeping an eye on her. Her small childish smile grew when Duck motioned for her to go to him. She stood up and approached him as fast as her two year old little legs could carry her. _

_"Wanna do a secret mission with me?" he asked, raising a sneaky eyebrow at the small girl. She nodded her head vigorously. _

_"Good! You need to get on my back…" he pulled the girl onto his back and held her gently under the legs. "…and we're going to attack Lilly!" he explained his plan._

_ Clementine giggled. "How we do that?" she asked. _

_Duck's smile got wider. "We're going to throw a rock at her!" he laughed quietly._

_ Clementine looked up to where Lilly was keeping watch on top of the R.V that Kenny was fixing up. _

_Duck carefully bent down and picked up two small rocks. He handed one to Clementine and kept the other for himself. "Ready?" he asked. _

_"Ready!" she whispered, preparing her rock in her hand. _

_Duck position himself and Clementine beside the R.V; behind Lilly. "Preparing shot!" Duck called loudly, catching a few others attention, but no Lilly's. "Shout 'fire', Clem…" he whispered over his shoulder to the girl on his back. _

_"Fire!" Clementine shouted. _

_Duck threw his rock as soon as the words left his friends mouth. It hit Lilly in the back. _

_Clementine threw hers next, just as Lilly turned around to see what hit her. The two year old had one hell of an arm on her, as her rock hit Lilly on the forehead. _

_Duck pulled her over his shoulder, standing her down as he laughed uncontrollably. "Good shot, Clem!" she praised her, putting his hand out to her. She gave him her best high five and giggled along with him as Lilly shouted some bad things down at them._

* * *

The three year old had lost all those people. Now she had these seven more, but would they leave her too? Like how Johnny left her… Like how Christa left her… Like how Lee left her…

It wasn't fair.

She was upset thinking about all those things, but didn't feel like crying. She wanted to stay tough around her new group so they wouldn't leave her like everyone else.

This was a goal she was determined to reach.

With this new state of mind, she turned to Nick and pulled on his shirt. He looked down at her surprised as she lifted her arms up to him again.

A small smirk snuck onto her face. "Up!"

Day 4:

_"Clementine!" hearing her name being shouted so angrily caused her to turn her head in search of the caller. She saw Carver making his way through the darkness that wouldn't let her leave her spot. _

_"You left us! You left me! You left Johnny! How do you know I didn't kill him?!" he shouted at her, pointing his finger right into her little chest as he loomed over her like a rain cloud. _

_"I'm sorry…" she apologised even though she knew it wasn't going to do anything. _

_"I outha slap you…" he hissed, raising his right hand up and swinging I down to Clementine's face. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact, but it never hit her. _

_She opened her eyes slowly to be faced with the loneliness she had been sitting in a few moments before. "Sweet pea…" the next voice she heard had her looking around everywhere for the source. _

_"Lee!" she called, hoping he would appear. Sadly, he never came for her, he only shouted through the darkness. _

_"You're strong, Clementine. Don't let that man take you down! Me and you, we'll always be a team. Remember that! You have to stick with your new group sweet pea. They'll keep you safe, I promise…" his voice grew more and more distance as tears started streaming down the three year olds face. _

_"I don't like dark! Lee! Come back, please!" she begged, sobbing and hiccupping as she begged the man to come back for her. _

_"Don't cry, sweetie…" Clementine turned to her left to see Christa kneeling beside her. She continued to bawl her eyes out as she reached her arms to take hold of Christa. Christa backed away slightly, and looked down at Clementine disappointedly. _

_"I told you to stay put, Clementine." _

_ "I'm sorry, Chrisa! I go back!" Clementine tried to make Christa smile but it didn't work. _

_"I would have come back for you! I would've brought you with me! I miss you..." Christa went from being angry to being upset._

_ "I miss you…" Clementine repeated Christa's words. _

_Christa put her arms out to give the three year old a hug, which Clementine quickly leaned forward for, but the woman slowly disappeared and the toddler fell through the blackness beneath her. Her tears were the only other thing to keep her company besides the darkness she was falling into._

* * *

Clementine shot up in the sleeping bag she shared with Luke, gasping for air; practically drowning in her tears. Her sudden movements caused Luke to wake up in a panic, wondering what was happening.

He noticed Clementine gasping for air and presumed the worse. He scrambled out of the sleeping bag and pulled Clementine out with him. Luke held one hand on her stomach and leaned her forward, patting her back gently so she could catch her breath.

It wasn't working as she continued to inhale sharply and tremble as many tears ran down her face. "Clem! Clementine! Shhh… Are you alright?!" he asked, trying to calm her down.

Her sobs where getting louder and Luke didn't want everyone waking up so early because of it. They would all be cranky for the last day of walking through the pines.

Luke walked through the trees away from the small make shift camp with the distraught child. He didn't know where he was going, just that he needed to cheer up the girl. He changed his hold on her, so her head was against his chest and he could hold her little, warm hand with the arm that she was sitting in.

He decided they had wandered far enough and sat down where he stood. "Aw, Clem, what's wrong? I hate seeing you like this…" he whispered into her ear. She squeezed his finger and continued to cry.

Luke thought about things that scared children half to death, literally. Monsters were one thing. Being in the dark without someone to keep them safe was another. But why would she be scared of those things while she was sleeping…?

It hit Luke like a ton of bricks. "Did you have a nightmare, Clementine?" he asked.

She nodded her head as best she could. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

Clementine considered his offer. She calmed down so her sobs weren't echoing through the trees anymore. "I…I was…" She couldn't get it out. No matter how hard she tried, her crying stopped her from telling Luke what was eating away at her.

"It's alright… Nightmares are not real, Clem. It's your mind playing a silly joke on you. Sometimes they feel real and make you sad, but they're still just dreams; none of it is real." He explained to her.

"So…Carvers not hit me?" she asked, finally getting part of her nightmare across to the man.

His eyes widened, as all his hate for Carver boiled to the surface. He had scared the girl in her dreams! Three year olds are supposed to dream about ice cream and rainbows not a mad man hitting them.

"I'll never let him touch you ever again, Clem." Luke stated, staring through the trees, into the darkness, as his anger slowly died down. Clementine calmed down even more now that Luke had assured her Carver was not coming for her; right then anyway.

"So…so Chrisa's not mad?" she asked, lifting her puffy eyes up to look at Luke's face.

"No, Clem. I bet Christa is very proud of you! Just like how I'm proud of you, and everyone else in the group!" he exclaimed, smiling down at her while she managed a smile up at him too.

"You're _proud_ of me?" she asked, holding his hand tighter.

He chuckled quietly before resting his hand on top of the toddlers head. "Yeah, Clem. I'm proud of you! You are so brave, and sweet, and you got Nick to laugh! Heck, even I couldn't get him to crack a smile! I'm so glad that I met you, Clementine." He told her, holding her closer to his body for heat.

There was a comfortable silence after Luke's words as the two cuddled in the darkness of the woods.

"I'm proud of you too, Luke…" a quiet whisper reached Luke's ears. Not only did Clementine construct that sentence all by herself, but she meant every word of it. Luke could see her eyes shining up at him from where she leaned against his chest.

"Are you ready to head back to camp?" he asked, preparing to stand up. Clementine stopped him from sanding by turning around and kneeling on his knees. He was surprised when she wrapped her small arms around his neck.

"We're a team, right Luke?" she asked, burying her head into his neck.

He was taken aback by her sudden clinginess but couldn't deny that they were, in fact, the most badass team in the apocalypse.

"Right, Clem. We're a team." He whispered, standing up and letting the girl lay her head on his shoulder. "No more silly nightmares, okay?" he asked, rubbing small circles on the girls back as they made their way back to camp.

"Okay…" she said sleepily.

"Night, Clementine."

"Night night…"

Day 5:

"…so that's why I can't carry you today." Nick had just told Clementine a really long story about how he hadn't worked out in a while and that he could drop her if he picked her up.

His excuse was so bad, not only did every cabin member know he was lying, but so did the toddler.

She left his side and took Pete's hand. "I'm cold…" she complained, shivering because of the northern winds they were getting closer to.

Pete looked down at her sympathetically. "I'm sorry, Clem, but I don't have anything to keep you warm." He told the girl. She pouted at the ground as she let the air freeze her face.

"Do we have much further to go? Bec needs a break." Alvin asked, wrapping his arm around Rebecca's shoulder.

Luke looked up from the map her was holding and turned around to face everyone. "We're almost there." He smiled at the others, relieved sighs and quiet murmurs of 'thank god'.

"What are we gonna do when we get there?" Rebecca asked, being the first to think ahead.

Luke put the map up in the air, over his head. "There's a ski lodge on the map. We'll just head there!" he exclaimed, smiling triumphantly since he had already thought it through.

"Dad, I need a drink…" Sarah whispered, catching her father's attention. He pulled his bag off his back and pulled out a bottle of water. "Does anyone else want a drink?" he asked.

"Me!" Clementine exclaimed, raising her hands in the air so she would be noticed.

Carlos handed Pete a bottle of water and the old man picked Clementine up into his arms. "Drink it slowly, okay? We don't want you choking again." He said, raising an eyebrow at her as he placed the bottle in her little hands.

She slowly took a drink to prevent another accident like the one the day before; she chugged the water down to fast.

The youngest girl was still on edge after the nightmare from the night before, and Luke could tell, but she was able to calm down every time the brunette man gave her a reassuring smile.

She handed the bottle back to Pete and smiled at him, satisfied after being hydrated. "Done." She chirped, looking up ahead to see a large boulder come into view on front of them.

They walked out of the tree's, where the trail expanded and then became part of the ground under the boulder. Luke stuck the map in his pocket and turned to face Nick with a pair of binoculars in his hand. "Would you climb on up there and tell us what you see?" he asked.

Nick's eyes widened, but before he could speak, Clementine beat him to it.

"I can!" she stated, ignoring the concerned looks from the others and concentrating on Luke's smirk.

"It's alright, Clem. Nick's got this one." He said, shoving the binoculars into his friends hand and motioning for him to climb up the rock. Nick sighed in defeat and carefully made his way on top of the boulder.

"What do you see?" Luke called up to him, pulling the map back out and holding it on front of him as everyone else stood around and stared up at Nick, who looked around through the binoculars.

"There's the bridge…"

* * *

**Chapter 5:**

* * *

"So I'm thinking, I'll go check out the bridge Nick was talking about." Luke said to the rest of the group, while Nick climbed down off the rock her had been laying on top of a few moments before.

Clementine got Pete to stand her down as she pushed past Sarah to stand in between Carlos and Luke. "Someone should go with you." The Spanish man said, thinking about safety in twos and what not.

"Okay. Pete…?" Luke asked, raising an eyebrow at the man who was just about to take a seat next to Rebecca and Alvin. He looked exhausted. "I was actually going to rest for a minute. Carrying Clem's turning out to be more of a task than I first expected…" Pete explained, avoiding using the phrase 'getting to old'.

Luke nodded his head and turned to Alvin, but before he could ask, Nick stepped forward with a slightly annoyed look on his face. "I'll go." He said, receiving a nod from Carlos, who put his arm around his daughters shoulder.

Luke raised an eyebrow. "I thought you hated having to do stuff for the good of the group?" he asked, amused by the scowl Nick was giving him. It was true though, Nick did hate doing things that made him seem like he cared. He decided getting away from the group with his best friend was an alright task to sign up for.

"Well alright, me and Nick will go across, low and slow, make sure it's safe, and then signal for the rest of you to come across." Luke told the others his plan before turning his back on them to start making his way to the bridge with Nick.

Clementine took a few big steps forward behind them both, causing Carlos to call her name, turning Luke and Nick's attention back to the group. The girl also turned around to look at the man who told her off. "Where are you going?" he asked, crossing his arms like the father he was.

She turned to look at Luke and Nick and pointed at them before meeting Carlos's gaze again. "To the bridge!" she chirped, earning a small chuckle from both Pete and Alvin.

Luke stepped closer to the girl and put his hand on her head. "We'll take her with us, it's alright." He said, ignoring the sigh from Nick behind him and worried glare from Rebecca.

"She should stay here. She's just a little girl, Luke…" Carlos said, clearly trying not to sound too harsh about the little girl.

"She's a valuable little girl!" Luke corrected the man.

There was a short silence in which a whole course of emotions flashed across Carlos's face. "I said no!" Carlos snapped. He didn't mean to. He was only looking out for the little girl.

"Maybe she _should_ stay here…" Nick broke the more awkward silence after Carlos's outburst.

Clementine turned to look at him with the saddest eyes. "But…" she stuttered, turning to look at Luke. "We're a team, Luke…" she pouted up at him, silently begging to get to adventure with the two men.

With a small smile, Luke pulled her up onto his left arm and nodded at the rest of the group. "I'll keep her safe, don't worry. We're a team, we must stick together." The brunette man explained, amused by the weird looks the rest of the group gave him.

Rebecca stood up and rested her hands on her stomach. "Explain later. Go and check if it's safe to cross the bridge!" she said, getting the two out of trouble for now.

Although she was worried about the girl, she had heard crying the night before and saw Luke carrying the child away from the camp in the darkness. She also saw him return with Clementine, except she was no longer crying, but was sound asleep in his arms.

She would get a proper explanation of out Luke later, but for now, she just wanted to keep moving and get somewhere safe.

"Can we go too?" Sarah asked, taking a seat next to Pete on a log. Carlos sighed before sitting with the rest of the group. "We're keeping watch, Sarah." He told his daughter. She nodded her head and started a small conversation with Alvin and Rebecca, while Pete and Carlos kept an eye on the bridge.

Clementine bounced around on Luke's hip as they quickly made their way towards the bridge.

"So you two are a team?" Nick smirked at the duo next to him, preparing for some story that Luke would make up to get him off their case. Instead, Luke and Clementine exchanged a smile, before the orange shirted man turned to Nick and nodded his head. "Yep!" he said, no joke or lie in his words.

Nick raised an eyebrow. "When did that happen?" he asked, fixing his rifle in his hands. Luke just stared ahead, a small smirk plastered on his face.

Clementine looked up at him, waiting for him to answer. When he didn't, she grew curious. "Luke?" she asked, pulling his attention down to her.

"Yeah, kiddo?" he asked, lifting her higher up on his hip.

"Nick asked something." She said, pointing to Nick who mirrored Luke's earlier smirk.

"Yeah, Luke. _Nick asked something_." He said, clearly thinking he had won this round. He kept the smirk on his face as Luke fought the urge to hiss something 'not nice' under his breath at the little girl's innocence. Luke eventually pulled himself back together and decided he might as well just tell his friend that him and Clementine bonded the night before, and were now a team.

He opened his mouth, but before any words could come out, Clementine beat him to it. "Look!" she gasped, grabbing some of his shirt in her hand. These were the moments Luke adored having the girl on his team.

Up ahead were two walkers; one sitting against a rock, and one standing, blocking any access to the bridge from their side. The three survivors hid behind a rock closer to them and made up a plan.

"What are we gonna do? We can't use guns; too loud. We could probably go around, but that'd take more time…" Luke was spitting ideas, until Nick spoke up. "Let's take 'em." He said, a smirk on his dirty face.

Luke returned the dumb look to his friend and pulled his machete over his shoulder. "I like your style…" he whispered, sitting the weapon on the ground.

He smiled down at Clementine before lifting her onto his shoulder. "Hold on tight; don't let go no matter what, and be quiet, okay?" he whispered. Clementine's little legs dangled down as far as Luke's arm pits since she was so small, and her hands gently grasped the sides of his head. "Okay…" she said.

Luke and Nick stood up and slowly started making their way towards the two walkers. "You get shorty…" Nick whispered, pulling a hammer out of his pants.

Luke would've complained if he hadn't of had the three year old on his shoulders. It made sense that he took care of the easier target so he could keep the little girl safe.

As soon as the walkers were dealt with, Nick turned to Luke and put out his hand. Luke slapped his friends hand hard; their 'bro' moment cut short when Clementine put her hand out to Nick.

He couldn't hide the smile as he gave her hand a light tap.

Luke raised his hand up to his shoulder and, with a small giggle, the girl slapped his hand as hard as she could. "Ouch!" Luke hissed, waving his hand to get the sting away, "You hit harder than Nick!"

A gust of wind suddenly hit them, and Clementine shivered on Luke's shoulders. "Are you cold, Clem?" he asked, concerned she would get a cold or something. She nodded her head, which Nick had to point out to Luke since the brunette couldn't see her as they walked onto the red bridge.

"We'll have to find you something warmer to wear." He said quietly, noticing a few walkers appearing up ahead. Clementine gripped his hair tighter in her hands, causing him to wince slightly and lift his hand up to her. "It's okay." He assured her.

Nick stepped forward to take care of the approaching walkers that had come out from under a train cart that was abandoned in the middle of the tracks. While he was bludgeoning them with his hammer, Luke stood back with Clementine and watched.

The three year old heard something behind her; she still searched for the source of _every_ noise she heard. It had become a habit since she spent a lot of times in the wilderness with Christa and Omid, when she had to be on her toes all the time.

Turning her head to look the opposite direction, she gasped in fear and pulled Luke's hair again; purposely this time. She treated him like her own personal horse, pulling at his rope to turn him around.

Luke responded with a pained moan and his body turned around as his head was pulled back, almost instinctively, so his back was now to Nick. He saw more walkers making their way towards them, and quickly shushed Clementine while making his way towards them.

"It's okay Clem. We can take 'em them easily! Just gotta stay ca-" the sound of wood cracking below him, cut him off.

When he felt his legs fall through the hole where one of the wooden beams broke, his first instinct was to grab a hold of the girl on his shoulders. The splintery wood that remained part of the bridge cur his face as he fell through.

He had pulled the three year old over his shoulder so she was on his torso.

Luke felt something hit his back and grabbed hold of it, but lost his grip on Clementine. His legs also wrapped around a beam identical to the one he was grasping while the three year old slid off his stomach and began to fall, head first, to the water below.

Her terrified cry was heard by Nick, who turned around in search of his two allies, before running to the edge of the newly formed hole. He looked down and saw Luke holding onto a beam for dear life with one hand while he kept a hold of Clementine's leg with the other.

The girl was holding her hat on her head so it didn't fall off while crying in fear.

"Are you okay?" Nick called down to them.

Luke began pulling Clementine back up. Once she was dangling over his stomach once again, he quickly released her leg and grasped her jacket, spinning her around so her head was on his chest, and holding her close. "We're okay… Watch out behind you!" the older male shouted, while trying to calm Clementine down.

Nick turned around to be faced with a handful of undead coming his way. "Shit…" he hissed, looking around for his rifle or hammer. His eyes landed on something more useful instead.

Luke had dropped his machete and it was now laying a little way away from Nick. All he had to do was get past that one female walker, and he would have a weapon. He was quick to send a punch to its stomach, knocking it backwards slightly, but doing nothing more.

He backed up as the walker got closer and almost walked off the edge. An idea came to his mind, and he began luring the monster towards him. As soon as the walker was about to pounce him, he jumped to the left and clasped his hand around one of the steel poles keeping the bridge up.

The zombie fell off the bridge into the blue waters below. With that problem dealt with, Nick sprinted to the machete across from him on the other side of the bridge. Once he had the blade in hand, he began slicing through the other threats.

He grunted as he stabbed the last walker through the mouth before dropping the machete and panting aloud after his hard work. Luke screaming in fear brought Nick's attention back to the hole in the middle of the rickety bridge.

He looked back down to see Luke kicking a walker as best he could without falling, while the undead being attempted to reach the man and little girl. It wasn't doing so well since it was impaled on a broken part of the beam further down the bridge, but it was still causing a problem for Luke and Clementine.

"Here!" Nick shouted, putting the machete down into the hole.

Luke gave him a confused glare before holding the whimpering child closer to him and furrowing his eyebrows together. "My hands are a little full!" he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes at the blue eyed idiot.

Nick took measures into his own hands and swung the blade as best he could, getting a clear hit on the walkers head. The beast stopped moving and both men calmed down.

Nick retrieved a pole from the beginning of the bridge that he had seen earlier and handed it down to his friend. Luke placed it across the beam his arms were around and the beam his legs were on, stood up, handed Clementine up to Nick, and climbed back onto the bridge.

Nick held Clementine under the arms, straight out on front of him since he had no idea what to do with the distraught child.

With Luke's feet firmly planted back on the bridge, he doubled over, hands on his knees, while he recovered from the incident. A small scar dented his usually perfect face, which made Nick smirk slightly.

"Thanks, man…" Luke exhaled the word quietly before straightening up and looking further down the bridge.

"Don't mention it. Take her…" Nick said, handing the girl over and sticking his hands in his trouser pockets, acting all cool like usual. He had a reputation to keep, he wasn't planning on letting Clementine ruin his one unique feature left.

Luke gave Clementine's head a small kiss dramatically while she continued to cry softly into his chest. "Thought I lost you for a second there, Clem; almost lost my team!" he said, trying to cheer her up. It was a failed attempt as the girl continued to weep into his shirt.

She couldn't swim, and was scared of heights. Being faced with an almost drowning situation and a falling incident almost made her die of a heart attack, not because of what happened. She could still feel her heart pounding in her chest as she sat in Luke's arms while he mumbled something into her cap.

"I don't like up high…" she finally revealed, allowing Luke to wipe away some of her tears while Nick reloaded his rifle and scouted ahead. "Me neither, Clem. I'm sorry that happened. We'll have to be more careful next time, yeah?" he said softly, rocking her where they stood.

He felt like a father who forgot to feed his kid or something. One of those feeling like he let the little girl down enormously by falling and taking her down with him. All he could do to make it better was apologise and whisper sweet nothings to her so she would calm down and forget the whole ordeal.

Clementine nodded her head, agreeing with the man's decision to be more careful. Even though she was only three, she knew they could never be _too_ careful.

There moment was cut short when a loud gunshot caused them both to jump in surprise, making Clementine grab some of Luke's shirt in her hands.

Luke ran towards Nick, who had his rifle aimed to the other side of the bridge. "What happened?" he asked, looking for the walker, or whatever Nick had shot at.

The red capped man turned to Luke and Clementine with wide eyes. "It…it was a guy! He drew at me, so I shot at him!" he explained, lowering his rifle with shaky hands.

Luke and Clementine both looked for the guy's corpse again, but didn't see it anywhere. "Where'd he go?" Clementine asked, rubbing her runny nose with her sleeve.

"He fell over…" Nick's quiet response caused Luke's eyes to widen like his where a few seconds before. "Well, who was it?!" Luke asked, not liking the idea the Nick might have hot an innocent man.

After receiving a useless shrug, Luke sighed and turned his head to see the rest of the group coming across the bridge to them. "Let's just get off this death trap…" he said, shaking his head at nothing in particular.

Nick waited until Luke started walking ahead before following.

His gaze lifted from the old wooden boards beneath his feet to lock eyes with Clementine's still teary ones. They both just stared at each other for a moment before a small smile found its way onto the little girls face. She seemed to be trying to find common ground while they both felt miserable.

Nick couldn't stop thinking about what he had just done, and didn't smile back. Instead he scowled as he recalled the recent events, while his eyes remained glued to hers.

That's when he noticed the sweet smile fall and get replaced with a familiar, upset frown. Just like that time after they got her back off Johnny; away from Carver.

A frown, almost like he had just ripped part of her heart out and crushed it beneath his boot.

* * *

**Chapter 6:**

* * *

"Who…was that…back there?" Rebecca asked, panting after the walk her and the rest of the group took to come and help out. Everyone was off the bridge now, standing next to an old station house. Alvin stood next to his wife, allowing her to lean against him for support. Pete also helped. They was worried about her.

"We don't know. He fell over…" Luke explained, standing Clementine down on her own two feet. She looked down at her hands, still recovering from the scare. She was glad Luke had caught her, but she couldn't stop shaking from the shock.

Carlos looked down at the girl and noticed her puffy red eyes. He kneeled down and motioned for her to come over while the others talked. She slowly walked towards him until she was right in front of him, staring him in the eye curiously.

"What's the matter?" he asked quietly. He knew she was young, and could've been crying because she needed a nap, but he just wanted to make sure.

She zoned out for a minute as the events replayed in her mind. Her hanging upside down over a river with Luke's hand around her fragile leg; the only thing keeping her safe, would haunt her for a long time.

Carlos saw the fear register on her face and put his hand on her shoulder, bringing her back to earth. Clementine wasn't his daughter, but he was prepared to treat her like she was if it saved her innocence; just like he did for Sarah.

Little did he know, ever since Clementine had joined them on their journeys, she had seen more than she had her whole time with Lee or Christa. They had always kept her protectively by their side, only leaving her with Duck or Carly when they had to take care of the monsters.

They treated her like a grown up, but also maintained the notion that she was a two year old little girl. For her third birthday, Lee had given her some candy which she savoured for days. He cuddled her when she was upset, but he made sure she understood the plans the group came up with.

Christa taught her how to survive without using violence. It was all Clementine could ask for from the woman who had lost so much in such a short time.

The three year wished she could go back and tell them she loved them, or thank them for everything, but, even being as innocent as she was, she knew they were gone and never coming back.

Her gaze left Carlos's eyes and looked down a fraction. She slowly lifted her hand to her face, and for the first time since Lee left, she pushed her thumb into her mouth; doing one thing that brought her a small amount of comfort before.

Carlos raised an eyebrow at her, while Rebecca also noticed her silence and new habit.

The doctor looked up at Luke and Nick, who were arguing about the man on the bridge still. "Luke?" he asked, pulling everyone's attention to him. "Can I talk to you, please? In private…" Luke nodded and he and Carlos left everyone else to talk next to the bridge.

"I'm going over to them." Pete said, approaching Carlos and Luke, and getting caught up on the private chat.

Nick rubbed his face with his left hand before walking off by himself and taking a seat on a small bench next to the door of the small building. Sarah hesitated, stealing a glance at Nick, before joining Rebecca and Alvin who had taken a seat on a log just to the left of the house.

Clementine remained where she stood, sucking her thumb as she calmed her nerves quietly. Her head started to hurt slightly and she shut her eyes tightly while she let it pass. When she opened her eyes again, she looked over at Nick, who looked almost as confused as she was about everything.

Her gaze moved to the left so she was looking over at Rebecca, Alvin and Sarah all laughing and chatting quietly about something nice probably. They always seemed to find time for a normal conversation; or at least as normal as you can get in the apocalypse.

Clementine then twisted her head back to see Luke and Carlos having a pretty heated argument, about Nick most probably. Pete was shaking his head, likely trying to stand up for his nephew.

Thinking of Nick, Clementine looked back in his direction to see him with his head in his hands. Deciding he must have felt bad about what happened on the bridge, she took small steps towards him, hoping he'd look up and speak to her before she got over to him. He remained bent over with his elbows on his knees instead.

When she reached the bench, her feet must have made some kind of noise in the dirt, because Nick flinched slightly before lifting his head and looking down at the girl confused. He was expecting Pete or Luke to come over and shout at him, not the toddler.

She pulled her thumb out of her mouth, wiped it on her pants and them raised her arms for him to pick her up. His eyes darted over to the others before landing back on the tiny girl before him.

He picked her up under that arms gently and sat her on his lap, her leg's hanging to the side facing the log half the group were sitting on while she leaned back into Nick's arm. She felt better finally finding a friend Nick.

They both sat in silence, enjoying each other's company for the first time since they met. Nick wasn't tense while minding the child because he could sense she was having a rough time; just like him. Maybe they were more alike than it first seemed.

His hand laid on her legs while he stared across the plot to Luke and Carlos. "They're probably talking 'bout me right now…" he whispered, making the youngest member look up at him curiously She could see his stubble of a beard and black nose hairs more than she could see his face; that was until he looked down at her.

"How come?" she asked, blinking at him, confused by why he thought that. She thought it too, but she still wanted to know why. Her hand slowly crept its way to her pocket.

Nick sighed, "'Cos I shot that guy… Carlos can get enraged sometimes, 'specially when I screw up - 'Luke, he's becoming a danger to the group.'" His impression on Carlos's accent made Clementine giggle, which in turn put a smile on Nick's face.

The three year old sat up straighter when her hand rubbed off something in her pocket. Nick looked down at her, with a hint of worry on his features. Clementine ignored this as she pulled the crumbly biscuit out of her pocket.

She must have put it in the pocket when she was with Christa and forgot to eat it. She looked down at it hungrily, but decided sharing it would be best. With a bit of hard work, she managed to break it in half (more like in quarter) and gave one half to Nick.

"I'll share!" she beamed up at him as she grabbed his hand and placed the piece of cookie on his dirty palm. With a quiet chuckle, the first she had heard him give, he stuck some sweet pastry in his mouth and started munching on it. "Thank you, Clem."

After checking the time on the watch Pete gave him, Nick stood up, lifting Clementine up with him, and made his way over to the survivors at the log. He carefully stood Clementine down and placed his hand on her head before looking up at Rebecca. "I'm going to talk to them," he turned his attention to Luke, Pete and Carlos, then returned his gaze to the soon to be mother, "Can you keep an eye on Clem?"

Sarah gave her best smile to the three year old before taking her hand and sitting her down next to her. Rebecca nodded her head, and looked down to Sarah and Clementine sitting on the ground whispering quietly. "We'll watch her."

Nick left to face the men near the bridge.

Alvin stood up from where he sat next to Rebecca and pulled his hands out of the pockets in his yellow jacket. "I'm going to search the shack for food, water, or anything else. I'll be back in a minute." He explained, smiling at his wife and taking a step closer to the small hut.

"Can I help?" Alvin looked down at the girl who requested to help, and smiled proudly. "Sure, Clem, come on." He said, putting his hand out for the baby to take. Sarah said goodbye to Clementine, and the younger girl returned the farewell with a wave and a smile before taking Alvin's hand and heading into the small house.

When entering the building, Clementine looked around at the small bed in the corner, the radio on the crate next to it, and the small fireplace that lacked any warmth or cosiness.

"This way, Clem." Alvin said, kneeling down on front of a chest under the window to the right. Clementine walked to his side and looked at the chest curiously.

She wondered if there was candy inside, or would it just be another one of those monsters waiting to jump out of somewhere unexpected and scare her. "Do we open it?" she asked, waiting for Alvin's consent to pry the top up.

He didn't speak, only began trying to open it himself. It didn't budge. "I don't see no key around. That guy must've had it…" he muttered, more to himself than the little girl next to him.

Clementine left him to try using his own tactic; brute force, and walked to the bottom of the fold out bed. She looked up and saw something hanging down far enough for her to reach on the wooden counter on the wall to the left of Alvin.

She stood on her tip toes and pulled, at what she now identified as some paper, causing something to fall from the surface and land with a thud on front of her. It was lucky that it missed her when it fell.

She bent down and picked the long, leather case thing off the floor; using all her strength to keep it close to her chest, and turned to Alvin. "Alvin?" she asked, pulling the man's attention away from the chest.

He raised his eyebrows at the girl holding the mysterious object. "Can this help?" she asked, stepping closer to him and letting him take it from her tiny arms. It was heavy, whatever it was.

Once he had a hold of it, he pulled one end of it and a dagger came out of its sheath. He smirked at the blade before smiling at Clementine. "Yeah, Clem, this _can_ help! Well done!" he praised her for her job well done and pushed the knife under the lid and began wiggling it around.

A loud pop noise reached both of their ears as the chest finally opened. Alvin pushed it back so it was opened the whole way and looked inside. He pulled out a can of peaches and shook his head. "Poor guy…" he said, thinking of the man Nick killed, "You know, Fuck Nick!"

Clementine flinched at his word, which the older man noticed. "Something the matter?" he asked, not even realising the little girl heard him curse.

"That was a swear…" she said, crossing her arms, almost as if she was scolding the much bigger man.

Alvin couldn't help but chuckle quietly. "Sorry, Clem." He apologised for his actions and picked another can out of the chest. Clementine extended her arms, awaiting him to give her the can, which he did without any hesitation.

"We're gonna have to share, okay?" he said, making it clear to the toddler that food was important for everyone, not just him and her. She nodded her head, already being aware of the blatant facts.

Christa and Omid had spent a lot of time teaching her things that three year olds usually would know about. The only thing she really struggled on was speaking, but she was getting the hang of it now since she had so many people to communicate with.

The door suddenly opened and Pete poked his head inside. "Some walkers are heading out way. We gotta get moving up the mountain." He informed the black man and three year old curly haired girl.

Both men let Clementine out first before following behind her. "Shall I carry you, little lady?" Pete asked, bending down to be closer to being face to face with, who he considered, his granddaughter.

"I'm gonna walk." She said, a determined gleam in her amber eyes. Pete nodded his head as his eyes wandered to the can in her hands. "Do you want me to mind that for you? Just in case it slows you down climbing up this hill…"

Clementine decided that it would be a good idea to hand over the peaches, but needed to make sure Pete didn't eat them until they got to safety. "We have to share, Pete. So, don't eat them all!" she said, giggling at the faked hurt expression on his face.

He chuckled softly after wards and took her hat off to ruffle her hair. She grabbed it back off him and sat it back on her head while smirking up at him childishly.

"Let's get going!" Luke exclaimed, leading everyone else to the top of the mountain.

* * *

As they got higher up the slope, Luke lagged behind while he surveyed the area, making sure there was no danger following them.

Pete and Nick were at the front, with Sarah and Carlos following close behind. Rebecca and Alvin were behind them, leaving Clementine alone a few meters behind, since Luke told them he'd keep an eye on her.

The three year old was growing tired, her legs were aching, her breathes coming out in cloudy puffs since it was getting colder the higher they got. She was getting slower and slower, Luke was catching up to her even though he was deliberately taking his time.

Clementine's legs finally gave out and she fell onto her hands and knees. She huffed frustrate and looked at the dirty palm of her right hand from the grassy ground beneath her. Just before she was about to cry, she felt someone wrap their hand around her waist and lift her up.

She looked up at Luke who gave her a concerned frown. "Are you okay?" he asked, rubbing her hand with his. He sat her in the hand with the map, so he now had nothing to look at besides her.

She pouted up at him, not answering his question. "Someone's cranky. Did you have a nap today, Clem?" Luke asked, picking up his pace since they were lagging pretty far behind.

Clementine shook her head, realising this was the first time she didn't take a nap in her whole life. Maybe that was why she had a headache earlier. She didn't know, but she didn't like it.

"I think you need one." Luke whispered, changing his position on Clementine so she was being cradled in his arms. She wiggled around, moaning sadly while she tried to sit back up. "No! I don't wanna…" she complained, fighting against Luke so he would leave her alone.

Luke wasn't sure what to do with the rebellious baby so he sat her back in his arms like she had been when he picked her up, and shut his mouth. Clementine remained frowning in his arms as she overcame the urge to cry.

They were the last two to reach the top, and joined the others who were quietly whispering about what to do. They had followed the ski lift all the way to a ski lodge situated on top of the mountain.

Luke handed Clementine to Sarah when they climbed onto the deck. "What's wrong, Clem?" Sarah asked, holding the younger girl close to her chest.

"I falled…" the girl said, holding her grazed hands out to Sarah. Sarah inspected the small gashes and gave Clementine a reassuring smile. "My dad can fix that! Do you wanna go to him?"

Clementine considered Sarah's offer before nodding her head and allowing the raven haired teen to bring her to her father. "Dad?" Sarah pulled Carlos's attention away from the boarded up windows of the lodge. "What is it, Sarah?" he asked, putting his hand on her shoulder and giving Clementine a small nod.

"Clem fell and I thought, since you're a doctor, you can clean her hands." Sarah explained, handing the toddler over to the man before he could respond.

Carlos stood her down and kneeled in front of her. He took her two hands in his and carefully rubbed most of the dirt off, some of the damaged skin too. Then he stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out a small box of plasters **(A/N - In Ireland we call them plasters, but I think others call them band-aids)** He quickly opened the box, pulled out of the bandages, and placed one across each of the young girl's palms.

"Tomorrow, you can take these off and your hands will be much better." He explained, smiling down at the three year old while she thanked him with a smile of her own.

Clementine turned around and looked at Nick, who had his arms crossed while he stood at the bottom of a ladder just next to the deck. She followed his gaze and saw Luke at the top of the ladder, pulling himself onto a watch tower.

She left Carlos and Sarah to talk and slid under the wooden railing that surrounded the entire deck and made her way to Nick's side. She pulled on his shirt to gain his attention.

He looked down at her and grinned before turning his attention back to Luke. "Bet you wanna go up there." He said, making the girl nod her head enthusiastically even though he wasn't looking.

"I think I see some lights!" Luke shouted down to them. Nick looked down at Clementine confused, which she returned with a shrug. "Well, what kind of-" Nick was cut off by someone shouting back up on the deck. He spun around and looked back up onto the wooden surface to see everyone gathered around yelling.

"Nick?" Luke called, waiting for Nick to finish what he was saying.

"Come down!" Nick shouted. He didn't wait for a response; instead he picked Clementine up and ran to the scene unfolding outside the lodge.

Pete had his gun aimed at three new people; two men, and a woman. "Are you trying to rob us?" the woman asked, her Indian accent making Clementine listen intently for something else that might come out of her mouth.

"Do I look like a fucking thief to you?" Rebecca hissed, shielding her stomach with both hands. "Just put the gun down…" Alvin said, raising his hands in surrender. He didn't want anything to happen to anyone on the group, especially to his wife.

"Fuck that!"

That voice.

Clementine remembered it as clear as day.

Nick pushed through everyone to get to the front and when he was finally there, he eyed the three people suspiciously. "Who are you?" he asked, shielding Clementine with his shoulder just in case they tried anything.

The woman and bald man looked to the other man, waiting for him to say something. When he didn't, they both followed his gaze to Clementine, who was staring at him with wide eyes.

Any feeling of crankiness or tiredness was quickly thrown to the side when she locked eyes with her former friend. His beard had grown significantly since the last time she saw him, but she could recognise his eyes anywhere.

"Kenny!" she chirped, reaching her arms out towards him, wanting to hug the bulky man.

"Cl…Clementine?!" he gasped, blinking just in case he only imagined the little girl he had done so much to try and save was right on front of him. He never knew what became of Lee or Clementine, but now, he had some idea.

Nick stepped forward and handed the girl over, ignoring the worried glances from everyone else in the group. He knew he didn't want to risk the man shooting anyone, and decided that since Clementine knew Kenny, things would be okay.

Clementine beamed up at Kenny while she squeezed him tightly. "I missed you…" she admitted, noting the caring glow in his eyes. "Aw, thanks darlin'. I missed you too." He said, giving her a light squeeze to back up his sentence.

Luke finally pushed his way to the front and gave Kenny a confused glare.

"Are these people with you?" Kenny asked, waiting for Clementine to face him again. She was looking at her new group, inspecting all their faces carefully. They were like her new family, Kenny was her old, and now they could all come together as one.

"They're my_ team_, Kenny!" she exclaimed, smirking at Luke before facing the bearded man again.

That answer seemed to suit Kenny as he smiled kindly at them and motioned them inside.

"I'll be putting diner on soon. I hope you're all hungry." The other man said as everyone started walking down the deck, towards the main doors.

* * *

**Chapter 7:**

* * *

Clementine's eyes widened when she was brought inside the ski lodge by Kenny and was greeted with Christmas lights everywhere and a huge Christmas tree near the stairs to the right.

She remained seated in Kenny's arms, while he walked up the five stairs on front of the main door. "Leave you're weapon by the door, Kenny. We have guests." The red sweater man said, pointing to a small bench back at the bottom of the stairs.

"How do you know we can trust them, Walt?" Kenny asked, hostility clear in his voice. The young girl looked up at him with the saddest eyes possible. "They…They're my friends…" she stuttered, feeling the tiredness hit her like a ton of bricks.

Kenny sighed and stood the girl down. "Okay, okay. I'm putting my gun down." he said, walking back down the stairs. He bent down and sat his rifle under the bench before straightening back up again. When he reached the top of the steps where Clem and the other man were, the main doors opened again.

The rest of the group came inside and gawked at the decoration around the lodge. "Y'all can leave your weapons on this bench." Kenny said, pointing to the bench next to them. Nick shook his head, "I think I'll hold onto mine, thanks."

Walter insisted they put their arms down since they were guests, and after Luke stepping forward to unsheathe his machete and sit it on the wood bench, the rest of the group placed their weapons down too.

"Follow me and I'll show you to your rooms." The woman said, motioning for everyone to follow. The group followed the woman, but Luke stayed where he was at the bottom of the steps, eyeing the weapons cautiously. He didn't trust this new group just as much as Kenny distrusted his.

"That's Sarita, Clem. She's real nice. And that other man is Walter." Kenny explained, kneeling down to her level. She nodded her head, taking this new information in. Something felt different about Kenny. Clementine sensed some tension as she examined his face.

Another hand suddenly landed on her shoulder and she looked straight up to see Luke looking down over her. "Time for that nap, Clem." He said, a small smirk plastered on his face. She was about to argue, but a huge yawn stopped her. Luke took this as a good opportunity to pick her up.

Kenny stopped him from making his way to the couch. "I'll take her. It's okay." He said, placing a firm hand on Luke's chest. Both men stared into each others eyes emotionlessly. When Luke tried to take another step forward, he found himself being pushed back by the hand on his chest.

Luke looked at the bearded man confused for a second, before taking a step back. "Eh, Kenny, right? Well, Kenny, I've got her. She needs a nap, so if you don't mind…" he tried to walk around the green coated man, but found himself being denied access _again_.

"Look, kid, she's my responsibility now, so hand her over and _Get. Out_." Kenny's rage filled eyes frightened Luke a little, but he stood his ground. As he opened his mouth to fight back, the girl in his arms stopped him.

"Don't fight…" Clementine complaining reached both their ears and they looked down at her. She frowned up at them both with disappointment in her eyes. She expected them to all get along. She couldn't have been more wrong.

"Sorry, sweetheart…" Kenny said in a quiet voice, watching her lay her head against Luke's shoulder. "We'll go over to the couch now, Clem, and get some rest." Luke told her, finally walking past Kenny and sitting on the huge couch next to the fireplace.

Clementine looked up at him with expectant eyes while he looked at her with a confused smile. "I'm not napping 'till you do." she stated, rather bossily. Luke chuckled lightly before leaning his head back against the chair. "Okay, I'm going for a nap. Night Clem." He said, closing his eyes and pretending to go to sleep.

When she didn't respond he opened his eyes and looked down to see her squinting up at him. "Go to sleep." She said, smirking up at him. "You go to sleep, missy!" he laughed louder this time.

Clementine buried her head in his chest and breathed in his scent. "Night, Luke." She whispered, gently taking a small amount of his shirt in her hands. "Night, Clem. Sweet dreams." A few minutes later, Luke heard the soft snores of the girl in his care.

Her body heat combined with the heat of the fireplace was making Luke nice and warm after the long, cold walk to get to the lodge. He found himself slowly drifting off the sleep in the quiet of the room and glimmer of the decorations around him. Someone sitting down next to him woke him back up again a few minutes later.

He looked to his right to see the Indian woman from earlier smiling warmly at him. "Hello. I don't think we've been acquainted yet; I didn't see you upstairs…" she said quietly, making sure not to wake the girl in Luke's arms.

He rubbed his eyes with the hand that wasn't holding Clementine to wake up properly. "Yeah, sorry 'bout that. Clem needed some rest so I just stayed down here… Name's Luke." He extended his hand to her, waiting for her to shake.

She took a firm grip of his palm and shook his hand sincerely. "I'm Sarita."

She looked down at Clementine with an excited smile, which Luke took note of. "The last time I saw a child as young as her was way before all this happened. When Kenny recognised her, I thought this must be his child, the one I've heard little things about…" Luke's eyes widened at the thought of Kenny being Clementine's father. He didn't want to lose her, not now after all they'd been through. "…but Kenny had a son, not a daughter."

Luke sighed, relieved that Clementine could still stick with him in the long shot. He decided to ask Sarita more about her and Kenny, since the way she talked about him sounded as though they were close. "Are you not Kenny's wife then?" he asked, being extra quiet since Clementine began shifting in his lap.

Sarita shook her head. "He lost his wife and child. I'm his girlfriend; I think that's what you young men call it, I've been with him for a while now and we've grown quite fond of each other." She explained, whispering quieter and quieter as Clementine's little face crumpled up uncomfortably.

Luke noticed her moving around on his lap and looked down at her. He put his hand on her head, shushing her quietly as she moaned childishly. Her eyes peeled open, looking at Sarita confused, before finding Luke's loving smile. "That was a short nap, don't you think?" he asked, inspecting her fragile face carefully.

She looked pained, but not in a serious way. "Is something wrong?" he asked, helping her sit up properly. She nodded her head while looking at Sarita again. Luke chuckled at the girl's curiosity before moving some hair off her face and clearing his throat. "What's wrong?" he asked, feeling her hands lean against his stomach.

She looked at him again, the tiredness clear in her eyes. "I'm hungry…" she pouted up at him as her stomach growled loud enough for both people on the couch to hear. Luke wrapped his arm around her small frame and pulled her closer to him so she was lying against his chest again.

"I'm sure dinner will be ready soon…" Luke said, looking at Sarita to back him up. She nodded her head and smiled down at Clementine. "Walter should almost be done cooking it. Do you want me to check?" she asked, noticing the girls eyes light up slightly.

"Check in the kitchen, or…in the food?" Clementine asked, pushing against Luke again so she could look at Sarita properly. Sarita laughed at the girl enthusiasm about food.

"Both! Do you want to come with me?" she asked, standing up from where she sat and looking down at Luke and Clementine.

The three year old looked at Luke with a new wave of energy flooding through her system. "Can I go?" she placed her hands on his shoulders and leaned in closed, their noses gently touching, "_Please_?"

Luke smiled at her childish antics while he stared straight into her amber eyes that could light up the whole room. "Yes, Clem. You can go." He said, earning a quiet cheer from his girl. She spun around on his knees and slid off, landing with a quiet thud.

Clementine extended her hand to take Sarita's, but looked over her shoulder once more to Luke. "Be good for Sarita." He said, realising the girl didn't even know the woman's name. With a quick nod, Clementine and Sarita left the sofa area, and made their way into the kitchen.

Luke leaned back in the chair and enjoyed the quiet again.

Clementine was led into the kitchen area by Sarita. They were greeted by Kenny and Walter. "Hey, darlin'. Where'd….uh…your friend go?" Kenny asked, smiling down at the girl just like he used to back at the motor inn.

"Sleeping, shhh…" she whispered, pushing her finger against her lips. The three grown up's laughed at Clementine's silly behaviour while she smirked behind her hand. She turned to Sarita and pointed to the pot on front of Walter. "Food!" she said, practically jumping up and down on the spot.

Sarita lifted her under the arms and stood her on the counter. Walter continued to mix the food in the huge metal pot over the small flame. Kenny turned to Sarita and they engaged in a quiet chat.

"So, how are you Clementine?" Walter asked, pulling the girls gaze away from the mushy food he was stirring. "I'm great!" she chirped, putting everything Rebecca had been teaching her into practice. She had to remember her manners and ask him how he was. "How are you, Walter?" she grinned at him while he beamed back at her, impressed by her elegance.

"I'm great, too. What age are you, Clementine?" he asked, sitting the spoon in the pot and letting it lean against the edge while he rubbed his hands on his pants. Clementine lifted up three fingers, but quickly put them back down and locked eyes with Walter, hoping he didn't notice. Rebecca had told her to use her words, not her hands. "Three." She said, noticing his eyes widen slightly.

"Three?! I would've thought older than that. You're very mature for your age." He complimented her, and although she wasn't sure what she was saying, she smiled at him thankfully. She would ask Rebecca later.

"Did you not hear what that turd said to me?" Kenny's voice was raised which pulled both Clementine and Walter's attention towards them. Sarita sighed, and gave Kenny an unimpressed frown. "I heard you saying things too, Kenny…" she pointed out.

Kenny shook his head before replying, "This is _our_ home! I wasn't gonna let some smart-ass, little shit boss me around!" Sarita put her hand on his shoulder to calm him down, looking at Walter nervously while she did so. The bald man gave one last small smile to Clementine before walking around the counter and standing with his back to her and the food.

Clementine only heard snippets of what was being said since the grownups were purposely talking quietly. "…don't trust them…Clem can stay…leave…" The little girl turned her attention back to the bubbling food. She was so hungry, Walter wouldn't mind if she took a tiny nibble, would he?

She carefully leaned closer to the pot, preparing to stick her finger into the mush while her legs got closer to the flame to keep her balanced. None of the adults were watching her. Her finger had just passed the rim of the pot as she slid her foot a little closer to keep her from falling in.

Just before she could scoop some of the steamy food onto her little finger, she heard footsteps enter the kitchen and someone gasp in horror. Clementine pulled her finger back out and turned her head to the left to see who had come in. As the girl turned to see who had entered the scene, she pushed her foot forward a little more while she leaned back, and her trousers connected with the flame.

There was a loud 'whoosh' noise and she looked down to see the orange flame climbing her leg. She stumbled backwards, almost falling off the counter as Walter, Sarita and Kenny all spun around to see what was happening. As quick as the flame caught her, it was extinguished by Carlos's hand, since he ran towards her and helped her out.

He didn't give the three lodge owners a chance to explain, just walked away with the girl held out on front of him and made his way up the stairs. At the top, Rebecca and Alvin were sitting on a bed right next to the stairs.

Clementine kept shaking her leg, even though Carlos asked her to keep it still, because it felt all tingly from her heel to her knee. She whimpered quietly as her leg stun when it brushed against her other one.

Once the doctor had sat her on Alvin's knee and pulled up her scorched pant leg, she understood why. Her skin was all red, and a few burns were noticeable around the bottom of her leg. A blister had started forming already, and Clementine couldn't keep her eyes off it.

Rebecca was sitting on the fold out bed; just like the one at the small cabin at the bottom of the mountain, beside her husband, trying to distract the little girl. "Clem, look at me." She said calmly, noticing the pained expression on the girls face as her hands went to push Carlos's hand away. The doctor took a hold of her wrist gently and held her small hand at bay.

Clementine didn't like the tingly warmth that had engulfed her leg, and tears sprang into her eyes. Her gaze was finally moved away from her leg when some footsteps were heard on the stairs. Nick walked up, looking curious and nervous at the same time.

"I…uh…heard something happened to Clem. Sarita's telling Luke downstairs, but I overheard when I was walking by…" he explained, inspecting Clementine's leg. His eyes widened slightly when he saw the doctor pouring water onto a cloth and dabbing some pretty nasty looking burns on her leg.

The girl looked up at him with her teary eyes, and then extended her arms. "Nick…" she croaked, clenching and unclenching her fingers, begging Nick to take her. He took a step closer to the edge of the bed before shaking his head. "Carlos is fixing ye, Clem. I'll take you downstairs when he's done." He said, finally being the grown up he was expected to be a while before.

Carlos turned to look at Nick. "Where's Sarah? I thought she was with you?" he asked, clearly upset since he thought Nick left his daughter.

"It's alright, Carlos. Pete has her in the back room looking at Christmas decorations. Kenny was there when I left…" he explained, trailing off as Clementine hissed in pain. One tear finally fell from her eyes, but Alvin was quick to think on the spot. "Hey, Clem, no laughing until Carlos is finished!" he exclaimed, bouncing her lightly on his knee, much to Carlos's dismay.

A small smirk appeared on her face, but the tears remained in her eyes. "I'm serious, don't you even laugh one 'lil bit!" he said, noticing her stifle a laugh. She let a small giggle escape from her mouth before leaning back against Alvin's stomach. "I laughed…" she said, purposely being cheeky like all little kids were.

This is what Alvin expected, however, which is why it was 'no laughing', not 'don't kick Carlos.' Maybe he wouldn't be such a bad father, after all...

Carlos stood up and looked to Rebecca with a frown. "We can't trust these people. They left Clem on the counter next to the stove! She could've died…" he muttered the last part quietly so only Nick and Rebecca heard. Rebecca stood up and turned to Nick. "Take her downstairs, and distract her 'till dinner. Please?" she asked, hoping he wouldn't make it harder than it had to be.

Nick almost complained, but got the hint that the woman didn't want some bullshit story and nodded his head. He picked Clementine up off Alvin's knee and made his way down the stairs, while the girl waved over his shoulder to the three survivors staying near the bed. "What happened to you, Clem?" he asked, just making conversation while they walked downstairs.

She looked at him with an adorable little smile before answering. "I was put my finger in dinner…" she whispered, making Nick smirk down at her. "Did Walter say you could?" he asked, already knowing the answer. She shook her head and giggled slightly.

Nick shook his head. "You should do as you're told, Clementine. If you hadn't been trying to eat the dinner, then I don't think you would have got hurt." Clementine's smile fell. She really hated being told off. She held Nick's gaze; he didn't look angry. She didn't understand. If he wasn't angry, why did he berate her?

"Nick?" she asked, frowning at him as they walked down the last step. Luke was walking towards them from the couch. "Yeah?"

"Am I in trouble?" she asked, her frown pulling further down. Nick shook his head, and stood Clementine down. Her leg still hurt a little, but she could handle it. "No, Clem." He said.

Luke stopped in front of them and bent down to her level. "Are you okay?" he asked, studying her face carefully. She beamed at him and nodded her head. She put her hand on his shoulder and raised her eyebrows at him. "Are _you_ okay…?" she asked, turning her head to glare at Nick who bust out laughing at her question.

Her attention was turned back to Luke when she felt his arms wrap around her and pull her close. "I'm fine, kiddo." He chuckled, finding her comment just as funny as Nick did.

Sarah's voice getting louder made Clementine push against Luke's chest and turned around to find her friend. Sarah and Sarita were walking towards the tree next to the stairs, Sarita carrying a box of decorations. "Go play." Luke said, placing his hand on the girls back and pushing her towards the two other girls.

Her legs started making their way towards them before she could reconsider the option. Sarah looked her way while talking to Sarita, doing a double take when she realised Clementine was coming towards them. "Wanna help, Clem?" the teen asked, pushing her glasses further up her nose.

Clementine looked in the box, deciding if this was the best idea. She knew she might drop one and smash it. Sarita seemed to be able to read her mind, "Don't worry if you drop some. They're just things; as long as we don't get hurt, it's okay." The three year old smiled at the two older women and nodded her head.

Sarah picked a red shiny bauble out of the box first, and hung it from one of the huge branches of the tree. The tall evergreen sapling was already bejewelled with colourful ornaments, but there was a clear amount of space still left empty and unappealing.

Sarita bent down next, sticking her hand into the box and attaining one of the decorations, but giving Clementine a sorrowful frown as she straightened back up. "We are awful sorry that you got hurt, sweetie. Kenny's was just on edge with the amount of new people here, and Walter and I got distracted…" she explained, standing on her tip toes to fill space on the tree.

Clementine picked up one of the trinkets and held it in both hands, still processing what Sarita had said. Kenny got angry back at the motor in too, and that sometimes scared her, but he was always kind and sweet around her and Duck.

She missed Duck; just thinking about him brought a frown to her face. She quickly shook it off and thought of the good things. Kenny was here, and he was fine! He was still the same old Kenny, by the sounds of things, and Clementine didn't blame Walter and Sarita for not paying attention. Lee often forgot about her when Kenny was upset too!

She smiled up at Sarita and began hanging her decoration on the tree. "It's okay. Nick told me if I didn't try put my finger in the dinner, then I wouldn't get hurt…" she said, standing back to admire her work. She didn't break the glass ball; that was a start, right?

Sarita looked towards the kitchen area where Nick was headed, and frowned at his back. "Is Nick a good man, Clementine?" Sarita asked. Sarah raised an eyebrow at this question and faced the older woman. "Why would you ask that?" she asked, becoming frightened by the situation.

Carlos, Alvin and Rebecca started making their way down the stairs. Clementine watched them come down and smiled at them when they noticed her, Sarah and Sarita by the tree.

"I…I don't mean it in a bad way! I just want to know, if he's mean, or is he nice?" Sarita rephrased her question and Sarah calmed down, waving at her father who walked over to the couch with Alvin and Rebecca.

The younger girl pointed over to the couch and pulled on Sarah's sleeve. "Nicks a good guy; he'd never- What's the matter, Clem?" she asked, giving Clementine all her attention. "Can I go? I…I want to…to ask Rebecca som'in." Sarah nodded her head, allowing the younger girl to leave. She enjoyed having someone younger than her around. It made her feel mature and important.

Clementine started walking over to the couch, ignoring Sarah and Sarita's boring conversation about Nick. Of course he was a good guy! Why would Sarita asked that…?

"Hey, Clem." Alvin greeted her first, offering her a smile just like always. She smiled back at him and started pulling herself up onto the couch in between Carlos and Rebecca. She struggled a bit, but Carlos let her stand on his hand and she managed okay after that.

Once she was comfortable between them both, she faced Rebecca and let her head fall to the side curiously. "Rebecca?" she asked, starting off slowly instead on bombarding the woman with her questions. "Yeah, Clem?"

"What's 'mature'?" the girl asked, waiting for whatever awesome answer Rebecca would give her this time. The last time she asked a question was when she wanted to know "why does the baby take so long?" Rebecca didn't turn as read as a tomato like Luke did when she asked him before. He had sent her to Rebecca and the answer she got amazed her.

* * *

_"Well, Clem, lift up your hand."_ _Clementine did as Rebecca said and admired her little fingers, making a fist and then opening her hand out again. She turned her head to Rebecca, waiting for her to explain. _

_"You see your fingers?" Rebecca asked, pointing to each finger gently, allowing Clementine to watch happily. "_

_'s wrong with 'em?" the girl asked, feeling a little self-conscious as the moment. __Rebecca chuckled quietly and shook her head, "Nothing, Clem." _

_Clementine nodded her head and looked the woman in the eyes again, growing more curious by the second. "Your fingers weren't always there. They had to grow. That's why the baby takes so long to be ready. All its fingers have to grow, and its toes, its legs and arms, even its nose!"_

_ Clementine giggled at the thought of someone with no nose. _

_"If the baby's done growing, then what?" she asked, watching Rebecca supress a laugh. "I'll tell you that another time, Clem…" _

* * *

Rebecca smirked down at the girl. "Why? Who told you, you were mature?" she asked.

Clementine smiled up at her, "Walter."

Carlos smiled at Rebecca, realising that the youngest group member must have made a good first impression. "Well, it means your growing up, Clem!" Rebecca revealed.

Clementine's smile turned to a frown. That couldn't be right. "But…I'm still three!" she exclaimed, making everyone laugh. She pouted at their entertainment, since she found it kind of mean.

"But every day you're getting closer to four." Carlos said, making the toddler's eyes widen in realisation. "Oh yeah…" she mumbled looking at him with a smirk. She would be four soon, and then she would be really mature.

Alvin leaned forward to look past his wife and to the girl. "So how you holding up, Clem?" he asked.

"I'm still hungry…" she admitted, earning a chuckle from the three adults. "Dinner shouldn't be much long-"

"Dinner is served!" Walter calling everyone to eat proved Alvin's point. Sarah followed Sarita away from the Christmas tree, making their way to the picnic tables near the kitchen. Clementine jumped off the couch and ran after the two girls, Alvin, Rebecca and Carlos slowly followed.

Nick, Luke and Kenny were already at the tables; Luke and Nick at the one on the left, and Kenny on the one to the right. Sarah joined Luke and Nick, and Sarita joined Kenny. Luke noticed the rest of his group approaching and gave Clementine a wave, one she returned. She took a step towards him, before Kenny called her name.

"There's room over here, Clem!" he hollered in her direction. Luke's face became sad, or maybe that was jealousy, as Clementine wandered over to Kenny and allowed him to pull her up onto his lap. Walter started filling everyone's bowls with his mixture of peaches and beans that the three year old tried to eat earlier. When he was done, he sat across from Sarita, who was sitting next to Kenny.

"I realised we never got a chance to catch up, Clem. So…how have you been? Where'd…uh…where'd Lee go…?" Kenny was quick to spark a conversation; one Clementine didn't want to have, though…

She shook her head, indicating she didn't want to talk about that, and Kenny got the hint. "Shit…I'm sorry, darlin'. Hell. He was a hell of a guy. Anyway…" he picked up a spoonful of his food and handed it to the child, allowing her to clumsily shove it into her mouth.

"What's that kid's deal, what's his name, Luke? Yeah, what's his _problem_?" Kenny asked, sounding angry and distrusting towards her group.

"Kenny…" Sarita sighed, shaking her head as she placed her spoon into her bowl again. "There's no problem!" Clementine argued, glaring at Kenny from where she sat on his knee. Kenny's face became soft again as he looked down at her. "Okay, Clem, I'll take your word." He said, saying he trusted her, even though his eyes told her another thing.

Walter was quick to finish, as was Sarita, and they got up to leave, allowing Nick and Luke to take their places; Luke sitting next to Clementine and Kenny, and Nick sitting across from him.

"Heya." Kenny greeted nonchalantly.

"Hey." Luke acknowledged the other man, but his attention was mainly on Clementine. "You finally get something to eat, Clem?" he asked, doubting Kenny's care for her. She nodded her head. "Good." He said emotionlessly.

Clementine had never seen him like this before. One thing started to become clear to her. Kenny seemed to be the leader of his small group, and Luke was the leader of theirs. Maybe that's why they didn't get along. It saddened her to see two of her most favourite people acting so mean and vulgar. At least Nick hadn't said anything stupid yet…

"So, what's your plan here? Gonna stay here and hold out for the winter?" Luke asked, gaining access to Kenny's 'marvellous' plan. Kenny shook his head, handing the girl another spoon of food. "Nah, we're thinking about heading north. Ever heard of a place called Wellington?" he asked, rolling his eyes at the confused glares from the two young men.

"Wellington?" Nick asked, confused by why this tiny group actually had a plan in the first place. "Supposed to be a big settlement up near Michigan…"

"Michigan?" Nick gasped, wondering how in the hell they were going to get there! It was miles away, it'd probably take a week _driving, _how long would it take to walk?!

"Yeah, Michigan! You got a hearing problem, kid? Think about it, fresh water, lots of land, and cold ass winters so the walkers get slow!" Kenny explained, growing impatient with Nick's constant questions. Luke seemed to take this plan into mind and nodded his head slightly as he thought about it more.

Nick on the other hand, wasn't so keen on heading north. "Sounds like bullshit…" he mumbled. Kenny's eyebrows furrowed together and he scowled at Nick across the table. Clementine was about to speak, but the bearded man beat her to it. "Listen, Vanilla Ice, I don't know what your deal is, but you're more than welcome to take off in the mornin'." He hissed, scaring the child on his lap.

Luke noticed her uneasiness and that, mixed with his doubtfulness of Kenny, caused him to put his arms out, offering the girl his comfort. She wiggled around in Kenny's lap, causing him to let go of her, and dived into Luke's arms. Kenny looked at her, sadness in his eyes, but it quickly turned back to anger when Nick started speaking again.

"That'd be fine by me." He stated, glaring at Kenny like he was the devil. If only looks could kill…

Luke held onto Clementine protectively while she frowned at the two men. "What's the deal with these guys, Clem?!" Kenny's question made Clementine jump in shock. "Hey, fuck you buddy."

Luke finally decided to speak up. "It's fine Nick, we ain't staying…" he said calmly, seeming to defuse Nick, but not Kenny. "She's staying!" he exclaimed, looking at Clementine momentarily before glaring back at Nick. "What?!" Luke gasped, tightening his grip on the girl.

Clementine had enough and lifted her hands up to her ears, attempting to block out the arguing. All three men looked at her sorrowfully, until Walter came over to help out. "Gentlemen, gentlemen, there no need to fight! You're upsetting Clementine! Kenny, why don't you come with me to check the back windows before this storm hits?" he asked, forcing Kenny to get up and follow him.

Once the older men were gone, Luke and Nick sighed in relief. "For a second there, I thought I was gonna need to put him in his place." Nick said, curling his hand into a fist. "He probably would've knocked you into next week!" Luke exclaimed, laughing at Nick's frown. They both knew he was right.

Clementine remained pouting in Luke's arms, reflecting on what just happened. Was she staying with Kenny or Luke? Did she even have a chance, or, since she was only a kid, would she have to do what she was told?

Luke stood up, lifting the girl up with him. She didn't complain about wanting to walk, because, just like with Lee, she felt safe in Luke's embrace. It was getting dark outside, the sun that had been shining through the windows was now completely gone behind some dark clouds in the sky.

Nick joined the rest of the group at the other table again while Luke went to sit back down on the couch with the girl. "Do you feel better after eating, Clem?" he asked, letting her lay against his chest to relax. S

he nodded her head. "Where's the sun gone?" she asked, watching Luke turn his head to look out one of the huge glass windows that made up the building. "Walter said a storms coming…" he whispered, noticing the clouds growing larger and darker.

Clementine leaned back and looked up at him with her bright eyes. "I don't like storms…" she admitted, shaking her head at the thought of loud rain, thunder, or even lightening.

Luke smiled sadly at the girl, realising that even though she was pretty brave, strong willed, and 'mature' for her age, she was still only three and was more innocent than Sarah; although storms did scare the teen too. "Don't worry, Clem. I'll keep you safe! I'll stay with you and protect you 'till the end." he told her, offering her the best comfort he could give.

Clementine nodded her head and looked around the room again. She examined the tree; that looked much more beautiful in the dark, the huge fire that lit up the room along with the lights of the tree, the books on the small table next to the couch, and then the map on the table on front of her and Luke.

"Luke?" she whispered, lifting her head back up to face the man. He looked down at her waiting for her to continue. "Are we staying here?" she asked, noticing a pained looked come across Luke's face.

After releasing a quiet sigh, he explained, "Kenny wants you to stay, Clem. But if you do, the rest of us will have to leave without you… Carver is still after us, and it's not safe to stay in one place for too long! Do you understand?" Clementine looked at him sadly.

They would leave without her? She was so happy that Kenny was back, but she didn't want him to take her away from her new friends. Her gaze fell from Luke's eyes and landed on his orange shirt.

"I don't want to leave you, Clem, but if that's what you want then I'll do it. I'll do whatever makes you happy…" he whispered, the grief he was feeling clear in his voice.

The three year old lifted her head once more and smiled up at the man. She wrapped her arms around his torso and leaned against his stomach, squeezing him in a hug. "I'm happy, with you!" she chirped, giggling as Luke wrapped his arms around her and pulled her even closer to himself.

They sat like that for a minute until Nick ran to their side. He looked worried and panicked as he held something behind his back. "L…Luke, can I, uh, talk to you for a sec?" he spoke quickly, looking around the room as if making sure no one was around.

Luke released Clementine from the hug and let her slide onto the couch, before standing up and following Nick. The little girl sat on the couch by herself, wondering where everyone was. That was until out of the corner of her eye, she saw Walter walking down the steps that led out the front door.

She slid off the couch and ran to the top of the stairs. She looked down through the glass doors and saw Walter standing at the edge of the deck, examining something in his hands.

She had never been able to walk downstairs by herself before, but there was a first time for everything. She sat on the top step and pulled herself forward, landing on the next step with a quiet thud. She continued moving down the steps on her butt until she reached the bottom, and stood up.

The door was open slightly so she squeezed out through the crack, the coldness of the outside air hitting her hard. "W…Walter?" she asked, putting her hands behind her and twirling her foot nervously.

The man straightened up but didn't turn to face her. "I…I heard that kid- What's his name, Nick? I heard him talking about shooting a man. I knew from the way he was acting that he knew he messed up… I told him not to go out there, but no, Matt always knew better…" he was ranting about something that the toddler didn't understand.

"What did Nick do?" she asked, growing concerned by the way Walter was clutching the item in his hands. When he turned to face her, her eyes widened. He was holding the knife she found back at the small shack with Alvin. "I gave this to Matthew when the dead started walking…" he muttered, his eyes glistening with tears.

He lifted his gaze to Clementine's tiny form on front of him. "Is…is Nick a good man, Clementine? Is he…is he a good man, or is he just like everyone else?!" he shouted loudly, scaring the girl more than she liked.

She felt tears spring into her eyes, as she opened her mouth, "He's good! He's my friend!" she cried, fearing the man she thought was so nice and kind. The glass door next to her opened and Nick walked out, looking worried again.

When he saw the girl crying silently on front of him, he picked her up and turned to Walter; already knowing what was going on. Walter's eyes where filled with hatred. "Just, tell me what you did to him! Did you hurt him?!" he sobbed, tightening his grip on the blade again.

Nick felt so awkward with Clementine hiding her face in his shoulder while he raised his free hand to calm down the bald man. "I…I'm so sorry Walter. I…I shot Matthew; I didn't know if I hit him, but I did, and I- He aimed at me so I aimed back and- I'm so sorry!" Nick apologised sincerely for the first time ever.

Walter's eyes widened as all the hatred in his eyes turned to more sorrow. He looked down at the knife in his hands before throwing it over the deck and turning his back to the two guests at his humble abode.

There was a sudden gust of wind, so strong that the huge wind turbine that gave the ski lodge electricity started spinning faster than it should have been. It was really loud, and Nick knew it was going to attract walkers.

Everyone appeared at the door, Kenny leading the way. "What happened? Walt…?" the bearded man asked, staring at the back of Walters head. Before anyone could speak, Kenny's head turned in the direction of the wind turbine. "We've gotta shut that thing off! Someone help me get the guns!" he demanded, running back inside.

"Guns?!" Sarita gasped.

Nick handed Clementine to Carlos before helping Kenny and Luke give guns to everyone except, Rebecca, Alvin and Sarah. "Stay here, sweetie! Keep Clem safe." The group doctor told his daughter, passing Clementine off again. He then disappeared outside with the others.

As Sarah kneeled down next to the window looking out towards the wind turbine, there was a huge bang and all the lights went out, leaving the four survivors in darkness. Clementine squinted her eyes, looking as far as possible to the people outside. She noticed Luke and Kenny running away from the rest of the group and disappearing into the darkness.

Her heart dropped as she lost sight of her two guardians.

Sarah noticed her uneasiness and gave her a small hug. "It's alright, Clem. They'll know what to do." She whispered, receiving a smile from Rebecca and her husband. The wind turbine slowly started to stop spinning and everyone noticeably calmed down.

Clementine moved away from Sarah and started walking over to a different window, in search of Luke or Kenny. Instead of finding them, she saw a whole bunch of walkers flood out of the trees.

Her breath hitched, as she ran back over to Sarah and gripped the teens arm. Sarah didn't flinch or even acknowledge Clementine's presence as she was too busy watching out for her dad. He had just been grabbed from behind but luckily got away unharmed; dropping his rifle in the scare of the moment though.

"Clem, come here." Rebecca whispered, noticing the girl's fear, and Sarah's daze. Clementine let go of Sarah and took a hold of Rebecca instead. "It's gonna be okay, baby girl…" the woman soothed the toddler by whispering sweet nothings into her cap.

Alvin was preparing to go out and help Nick, who was being attacked by a lone walker away from everyone else; except Walter. He stayed where he was, however, when Walter shot the walker in the head, freeing Nick from its grasp so they could both run to Sarita and Carlos's side.

As the fighting group members prepared to fight off the rest of the undead, a flurry of gunshots from in the trees stopped them from using any ammo. Four people emerged from the treeline, one of the Rebecca instantly recognise, "Carver!"

Before Clementine could even get a look at the people to see if they really were Carver and his gang, Sarah had gasped "Dad!" and ran outside, leaving Rebecca to call out for her in a failed attempt to bring her back.

Alvin stood up and pulled Rebecca up with him, making his way towards the stairs after he saw Carver point at the lodge and his minions start making their way towards the doors.

Clementine watched the people outside getting closer, but she could move. She was frozen in shock. It was too dark outside to tell who the people were, but she knew they were trouble.

"Clem!" Alvin called, being quiet, but loud enough so the girl could hear him. She turned to look at him crouched on the bottom of the stairs, waiting for her to go to him. She finally started moving, running towards him.

Her foot caught on the rug next to the couch and she fell onto her stomach, winding herself badly. She coughed and wheezed as she heard the main doors open allowing wind to howl through the spooky lodge.

Fear took over as she started crawling on front of the couch, trying to hide from the people and also stop crying at the same time.

"Damn. This place is huge; got a lot of windows. Bill's gonna hate it…" Clementine recognised that voice. She stood up and pulled herself to the side of the couch, peaking out to see two people she recognised looking around the lodge in awe.

"Man, how does he expect us to cover every inch of this place?!" Johnny gasped, turning to face the other familiar face. "Just, cover that window over there, Johnny." Bonnie demanded, pointing in Clementine's direction.

The girl sat down, pulling her knees up to her chest, and trying to think of a way to get to Alvin before Johnny noticed the both. She didn't know if he was working for Carver still, but she didn't want to give herself up and find out.

Alvin motioned for her to just run towards him, but she shook her head as Johnny's boots came closer and closer to her. The armed man walked to the window, surprisingly not noticing Clementine or Alvin as he walked right by them both.

The toddler took this as her chance and stood up, running towards Alvin. Once again, she tripped and landed on her stomach with a thud that echoed around the lodge.

Johnny spun around, aiming his gun at the girl, but quickly lowering the weapon when he realised who it was. Clementine noticed the huge bruise the engulfed the left side of his face. His eyes widened and he looked to the right to see Alvin crouched at the stairs, hands raised in surrender.

With an agitated sigh, Johnny picked the girl up under the arms and handed her to Alvin. "You gotta be quieter next time, kid; If I had been Bill, you'd have been sorry…" he whispered, pushing the other man up the stairs, before returning to the window with a smirk on his face.

Troy had rounded everyone up in a line kneeling on front of the reception desk of the ski lodge; just inside the door. Carver approached them, eyeing each one of them carefully. He then turned to look around the ski lodge, his eyes following the barrier around the hall upstairs; the barrier Alvin, Rebecca and Clementine were hiding behind.

Rebecca had to keep the girl calm as an eerie silence took over the area. Alvin was peering through a gap in the wooden beam, waiting for the mad man to look away. Carver did just that, turning his attention to the doctor.

He walked forward and grabbed Carlos by the arm and dragged him into the middle of the floor, where he delivered a punch to his stomach, knocking him to his knees again. Carlos coughed and wheezed as he caught his breath.

"Dad!" Sarah cried, trying to break out of the rope Troy had tied her hands together with.

Bonnie stood nearby, looking at Walter regretfully as he stared at her in shock and betrayal.

"Listen, I'm only gonna ask you once. Where's Rebecca?" Carve hissed from where he stood behind Carlos. The Spanish man ignored him and looked to his daughter. "Sarah, listen to me. It's gonna be okay…" he was proven wrong when Carver grabbed him by the hair, getting his walls down, then grabbing him by the hand and snapping his index finger back.

Carlos screamed in pain, as Sarah sobbed for the man to stop. Everyone else was too shocked to speak; even Nick was lost for words.

"Rebecca, our baby deserves to be raised in a place of safety. I know you're out there, and Alvin, and Luke, and the girl…" Alvin muttered something under his breath as he clenched his fist in anger at what Carver just said.

Clementine faced Rebecca, preparing to cry loudly, but wanting to let the woman know first. The way her lip trembled was enough of a hint to Rebecca. "Shhh…" the soon to be mother hushed the little girl quietly, not preparing to give up yet.

"W…why's Carlos sad?!" Clementine asked, trying to look through a gap to see him, but being stopped by the two adults. The woman didn't answer her question, only shook her head and closed her eyes.

Another cry from the doctor reached their ears, followed by Sarah begging Carver to stop. "Bec, we gotta go down there. He'll kill him!" Alvin finally gave in to the torture downstairs.

"What? No! I can't do that…" Rebecca said, pulling Clementine closer to herself so the girl was sitting on her thighs. "What about the baby? You _need_ a doctor!" Alvin exclaimed, pointing to his wife's stomach.

Rebecca lowered her head, as Clementine lifted hers. "Where's Luke and Kenny?" she whispered, making Rebecca's head shoot back up. "Maybe they can help us?" she asked, hoping Alvin would agree with her this time. Sadly, he didn't.

"Look at those guns! We start shooting, and people are gonna die on both sides." He explained, actually making a really good point. Alvin sighed, "We're going down there." Rebecca looked at him sadly, locking eyes with her husband. "He'll kill you…" They both just stared at each other for a second, until Carlos caught there attention.

"Shoot him! Somebody just shoot hi-" Carver cut him off by placing a knife to his neck. Alvin gave his wife one more pleading look, before she gave in. Rebecca stood up, with Clementine still in her arms, and looked over the railing. "Bill, STOP!" she demanded.

Carver smirked up at her and threw Carlos onto the ground, letting him grab his hand and groan in pain. Sarah was whimpering over what just happened as Bonnie brought Carlos back over to the others, and Rebecca, Clementine and Alvin all started making their way downstairs.

Alvin was escorted to a spot next to the others by Troy while Carver stopped Rebecca by caressing her cheek. "Are you alright?" he asked. The pregnant lady glared at him and jerked her face away from his hand. "Fuck you Bill." She hissed.

Carver smirked at her and then turned his attention to Clementine. "It's nice to see you again, Clem." He said, sticking out his hand for her to shake. She didn't want to be rude, so she put her hand in his and let him do what he wanted.

He smiled at her before walking next to Bonnie and looking at all his prisoners. "We got everything under control?" he asked the southern woman, who nodded her head in response. She then turned her attention to Johnny, "Aren't you gonna come on over and see Clem?" she called.

Johnny turned around and shook his head, just as the window he was keeping watch at smashed around him and a gunshot rang through the air. He dived onto the ground, covering his head with his hands while Carver, Bonnie and Troy all took cover behind some wooden pillars inside the lodge.

Bonnie peeked around the corner, watching Johnny crawl to the safety of the couch, and then searched for anyone out the window. "I don't see 'em." She said.

Carver left his post, "Watch them." He approached the people kneeling by the counter and pulled Walter up by the collar. He dragged the unarmed man to the smashed window, and without any hesitation, but a bullet between his eyes.

"That's what you get for trying to kill one of my men!" he shouted out into the darkness before taking cover behind a pillar closer to the window. "I don't want to do this, but you ain't leaving me much choice. So here's what's gonna happen. I'm gonna march another one of your friends out here, and I'm gonna put a bullet in the back of their head. Or, you can give up now! Your choice…" he explained, ignoring the cries of Sarah getting louder in the background.

Another shot was fired from outside, and Carver rolled his eyes before approaching his victims again. He stood on front of Alvin, smirking down at him menacingly. Clementine wiggled around in Rebecca's arms, and since the woman was so worried for her husband's safety, she put the girl down without a second thought.

As soon as Clementine's feet touched the ground, she ran on front of Alvin and looked up at Carver innocently. "_Please_ don't hurt him…" she whimpered, already feeling terrible about the death of Walter.

Carver's smirk only grew when she stood on front of him, so much, it had become a wide smile. "Alight, Clementine. If that's what you want…" he said, bending down and scooping the girl up into his arm. He started marching to the window, holding Clementine tightly so she couldn't get away.

"Wait, Bill, stop!" Rebecca gasped, reaching out for the kid, but being kept in place by the gun aimed her way.

Carver placed his gun to Clementine's head, feeling her hand hold his in a poor attempt to stop him. "We can do this all night! Is that what you want?" he called out into the cold, dark night.

Everything was quiet for a moment, Rebecca and Clementine being the only two people who weren't tied up; not that it meant anything good for Clementine – she was still being held at point blank range.

The main doors slowly opened and Kenny stepped inside, his hands raised as he surrendered to the mad man and his followers. Clementine was handed to Johnny who had rose from his place on the ground near the couch and offered to watch her.

Carver warned him not to try anything this time, in which the younger man responded, "Yeah, I won't…" while rubbing the bruised side of his face.

Kenny was tied up and thrown to his knees next to Sarita. "Where's Luke? Finally cut and run, huh? Why am I not surprised? I warned you. I warned you not to follow him. Look where he's led you. But your safe now", Carver turned to look at Rebecca, "We're going home. As a family."

Troy and Bonnie stood by his side, guns in hands. "Alright, round 'em up. We're heading back to camp!" he ordered, walking out the main doors, while he left Bonnie, Troy and Johnny to gather the prisoners.

Clementine sat in Johnny's arm while he dragged Nick up by the arm. She was scared, she could admit that, but it wasn't Carver that had her so upset.

It wasn't the fact that a gun had been placed to her head.

It wasn't because of the fear she had felt; was still feeling, while her friends where all being tied up and tortured.

No.

It was something else that she couldn't get out of her head.

_"Don't worry, Clem. I'll keep you safe! I'll stay with you and protect you 'till the end."_

Where was Luke?

* * *

**Chapter 8:**

* * *

"Why can we not go _real_ toilet?" Clementine asked as Sarah walked away from the truck with her in search of a bush to do their business behind. The older girl gave the toddlers hand a light squeeze before replying, "There's no bathrooms in the middle of nowhere, Clem."

The younger girl nodded her head, understanding the logic behind that answer, but still questioning why they couldn't have waited until they got somewhere they could go indoors.

Sarah helped Clementine use the toilet before asking the child to wait by the tree's for her to finish. The three year old didn't argue and stood by the treeline, next to the dirt road that the truck holding everyone else was parked, waiting for Sarah to be done.

A brown moth landed on the trunk of a tree next to her, catching her eye, and making her smile. It had been a while since she had seen such a pretty creature; one she wasn't going to have to eat to survive.

Her little fingers reached out to touch the winged beast, but just before she could feel the moth's wing, it flew away, disappearing into the shrubbery that surrounded her. A frown tugged at her lips, her mind functioning like the three year old girl it was in charge of, wondering why the animal flew away.

"Are you two 'bout finished over there?" Troy's voice turned Clementine's attention to the right, where Troy was standing behind the truck, watching them her from afar.

"Yeah, just a minute." Sarah called, walking out from behind the bush, fixing her pants in the process. "Ready to head back, Clem?" Clementine slipped her hand into Sarah's and they started walking back towards the truck.

Carver, Bonnie and Johnny had exited the vehicle and were now standing near Troy, waiting for the girls to return. As they got closer, Troy smirked in their direction. "Everything come out alright, girls?" he asked, his smirk remaining plastered on his face while Sarah scrunched her nose up in disgust.

Clementine didn't know what he meant, but if Sarah didn't like it, then neither did she.

"Get 'em tied up." The boss commanded, turning his back to Troy and the young girls. Troy started tying Sarah's wrists together again, while the younger girl looked over to Bonnie and Johnny, who were whispering quietly to each other, and then to Carver who pulled a radio out of his pocket and pressed the button on the side.

"Well, we're on our way; probably thirty minutes out. Make sure everyone's prepped. Emotions may be running high. Carver out." Once he was done talking into the device, he lowered it away from his mouth and looked at Johnny.

"If I find out you and Troy have been wasting fuel to keep that fucking heater going, I'll make you walk back." He stated, giving the man a cold glare. If there was one thing he hated more than ignorance and rivalry, it was wasting of his precious, hard to obtain fuel.

"Nope. We froze out asses off; just like you told us to." Johnny said, facing Bonnie once more. He rolled his eyes as he turned away, but was lucky to have been just off the radar of the leaders watchful eye.

Troy was almost done tying the rope tight around Sarah's wrists, when Carver noticed Clementine listening in on everything he had been saying. "It ain't polite to be listening in on other folk's conversations. Has anyone ever taught you that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at the little girl.

She frowned at the accusation and bowed her head, although it was true that she shouldn't have been listening in. "I'm sorry…" she whimpered, thinking he might try and hurt her again, like back at the ski lodge.

Surprisingly, she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and looked up to see the man she feared kneeling at her level and smiling at her softly. "It's okay, honey, don't cry. We'll chalk it up as a lesson learned, alright?" he said, giving her shoulder a quick squeeze and then standing back up.

Clementine smiled up at him, silently thanking him before Troy took her hands and started tying them together like Sarah's. "When you're done there, Troy, get the girls in the back with the rest of 'em. We've got a bit of a drive ahead of us." The gravelly voiced man said, heading back to the front of the truck to take his seat.

Bonnie and Johnny kept watch for any walkers while Troy pulled the door at the back of the truck up and motioned for the girls to get in with his gun. Sarah slowly climbed inside, but Clementine couldn't due to her height. Luckily, Bonnie noticed her problem and came to her assistance, lifting her under the arms and standing her in the back of the truck.

A quiet 'thank you' reached the woman's ears; something no one had said to her in a while. "No problem…" she mumbled, watching the girls take their seat.

"Are you guys okay?" Sarita asked, being the first person to question the children's safety while they were away from the rest of the group. She was very mindful of others well-being, especially two little girls.

"The hell did he do to you? Hey, Clem, did he hurt you?" Kenny asked, trying to catch the girls attention, but she wouldn't look at him. He turned his head to look at the door that Troy was preparing to close. "Hey, Hey!" he shouted, but he was ignored and the metal door was slammed shut.

The truck began to move, driving over many bumps on the trail, causing everyone inside to bounce around since there were no seats or seatbelts to keep them safe and in place. No one spoke, only looked around at each other, hoping everything would be okay.

"All right, we gotta do something…" Kenny finally broke the silence, looked around the truck in search of something. "Anybody got anything sharp?" he asked, turning his gaze to the people around him. "We need to get these bindings off." He stated, since no one seemed to hear him, or understand him; they were all ignoring him.

"Hey, Clem, help me find something to get these off. Anything sharp that could cut these…" he put his hope in the young girl he had known since the beginning. This question caught the attention on a few people. "Don't get her involved, Kenny." Rebecca said, giving him a cynical look.

The bearded man claimed she was the only one willing to help out around here, and that she was tougher and smarter than all them put together. This caused havoc among the survivors, but Clementine ignored it, looking around for anything to help Kenny with.

Her head looked to the right, examining the door to see if there was anything on it that could cut through the ropes. There was nothing but scraped and scratched in the metal that looked pretty old and rusted. She was about to turn back front, but something caught her eyes on the wall her back was against.

She kneeled up and turned around, inspecting her find while everyone continued mumbling insults at each other.

"I have no idea what you're saying, but-"

"Kenny?" The bearded man stopped mid-sentence, only giving Carlos a half an abusing as he had planned. He looked across the truck to the toddler who called his name. "Yeah, darlin'?" he asked, mentally questioning why she was not sitting down.

"Can this help?" she pulled both her hands up, since they were bound together, and pointed to the broken pipe she had found a few minutes before. Kenny's eyes widened as he stood up and stepped to the other side in one stride. "Jackpot!" he exclaimed, beginning to cut his bindings off with the pointy, rusted part of the pipe.

"Sit down, Kenny." Carlos said, his tone of voice, keeping Clementine in place instead of jumping up to help Kenny more. When Kenny continued to cut through his rope, Carlos grew angrier. "You have no idea what you're dealing with!" he growled, surprising nearly everyone in the truck, but scaring the two youngest girls more than he meant.

His face softened as he looked to his left to offer his daughter comfort.

Clementine just sat silently, hoping no one else said anything.

Kenny couldn't keep his mouth shut. "He gave me a pretty good idea back at the lodge, and I don't intend to sit around here and let that happen to the rest of us." He ranted, rubbing the rope against the rugged pipe with more force. "I'm trying to help." He concluded, finally breaking his hands free and smiling down at Clementine, since she was closest and it was her careful eye that found the pipe in the first place.

"I'm sure Walter really appreciated your help." Carlos mumbled, once again surprising everyone.

Pete released an agitated sigh, finally deciding enough was enough. "We all need to calm down. There ain't no point in arguing about what happened. We gotta be prepared when they open up that damn door." He said, earning an agreement from Sarita and Alvin.

Kenny wasn't so easily calmed down though. "Look, I didn't mean for Walt to die…" he said, bending down next to the three year old. "So don't blame me for that shit!"

Nick decided to speak up and side with his uncle. "Pete's right, can we all just stop arguing…" Rebecca gave him a small smile, but Kenny only found his calmness even more agitating. "I'd stay out of this if I was you, boy." He said, looking across the truck to Nick while he kneeled next to Clementine.

"Mister, I ain't a boy!" Nick exclaimed, feeling suddenly offended by the statement the older man had made. Pete murmured something to his nephew and then they both fell quiet.

Carlos sighed, bowing his head tiredly and looking at his broken fingers. "I was just pointing out that, regardless of intent, there are consequences to rash actions." He explained, his voice back to being quiet, but stern.

Kenny ignored him and put his hand out to Clementine. "How about I help you outha them?" he asked, returning the smile she offered him while she nodded. He picked her up under the arms and stood up straight again, lifting his knee up with his foot resting against his other shin, and sitting the little girl on it so his hands were free to help her cut through the rope.

He began moving her hands back and forth above the pipe, her rope slowly getting worn out, and eventually breaking apart. Kenny smirked as Clementine rubbed her red wrists. He stood her down and kneeled in front of her. "Alright, now we're getting somewhere. Ain't that right, Clem?" he asked, putting his hand out, half expecting the girl to tilt her head to the side curiously and not know what a high five was, but instead, she raised her hand high over her head and slapped his palm hard.

Kenny chuckled softly while ruffling Clementine's hair (well, her cap…) and standing up again. "You're gonna be a fighter…" he whispered to himself, turning to face the door.

"Clem?" Rebecca's voice reached the young girls ears, "Come over here; I don't want you to get hurt." Clementine made a dash for Rebecca, almost falling when the truck drove over more bumps in the road, and snuggled up next to her, looking at the woman's tied up hands concerned.

"Are you cutting them?" she asked, putting her hand on top of the pregnant woman's. After giving a small shake of her head, Rebecca declined, "No, I'll be getting them off soon, don't worry. Until then, just stick close, okay?" Clementine nodded her head and scanned the people around her.

She locked eyes with Nick, but he just sighed and turned his head away. She widened her eyes, hurt by his actions, but she didn't question him since she knew everyone was in a bad mood.

"May I ask what it is you plan to do when they open that door?" Carlos spoke up again, making Kenny look at him once more; that same angry scowl sprawled out across his face. "I'm gonna punch the first sonuvabitch I see, take his gun, and use it to shoot the next sonuvabitch I see!" he exclaimed, making a fist with the hand that wasn't leaned against the wall to keep him steady.

"What's that word?" Clementine asked, looking up at Rebecca curiously.

"It's another swear, Clem. I don't ever want to hear you saying that word." She explained, making the girl face Kenny with a frown of her own. Her gaze was held on him while he looked at her confused. "A swears bad." She stated, watching realisation fall upon his features.

He diverted his eyes to the ground, thinking of an excuse while Alvin chuckled quietly next to Clementine. She turned to look up at him with a small smile. She liked it when Alvin laughed. He was like a big, happy, cuddly teddy that she always wanted around.

"I…uh…I'm sorry, Clem. I'll try harder to bite my tongue next time." Kenny said, making the toddler face him in confusion again. She didn't understand half the things he said. The same went for Luke, Nick and Pete. Their country phrases and peculiar sayings made her wonder how they learned to speak.

Sarah began to whimper quietly from in between Carlos and Rebecca. "There, there, it's okay, everything gonna be okay." Rebecca soothed the teen while Clementine just leaned closer to the woman, getting more scared by the second.

"Maybe at this point, Luke is the only hope we have." Alvin said, grabbing Clementine's attention at the mention of the southern idiot who had saved her from the dark, intimidating solitude of the woods when they first met.

She opened her mouth to ask where he was, but Kenny beat her to it. "If he was going to do something he'd have done it by now." He stated matter of factly, making the youngest girl and boy in the van look at him agitatedly.

Clementine didn't have to courage to speak up, but she didn't have to because Nick was fine with doing it for her. "He'd never abandon us." The young man said, challenging Kenny to a staring contest as both of them looked at each other with equal annoyance on their features.

"Well he ain't here!" the bearded man exclaimed, pointing to the people sitting in the truck.

"He may not be around, but he wouldn't leave us behind." Pete said, catching Kenny off guard as he shut his mouth and turned to face the door.

"Kenny, please come back over here…" Sarita said, waiting for him to do as she asked, but instead he just shook his head and remained silent, waiting for the truck to stop moving.

"Just sit down." Carlos said, growing impatient with Kenny's stubbornness. "This ain't your call, Doc!" he growled, clenching his fist.

Clementine and Sarah locked eyes and the younger of the two offered a smile to the teary eyed teen, making her smile back and calm down.

"Hey, Clem…" Kenny calling her name, made her (and everyone else) look at him awaiting more, "You trust me, right?" he turned to face her and raised a hopeful eyebrow.

Clementine opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Kenny held her gaze, the hopeful glint in his eyes dying out. "I…I…I'm scared, Kenny…" she admitted, frowning at the few sympathetic looks she received from the others.

Nick looked at her with a blank expression, and once again she felt upset about it.

"It's okay to be a little scared, but you know we gotta do this." Kenny said, turning his back to everyone again. "Alright, everybody read-" Kenny's determined question was cut short when the truck hit something, instantly stopping, and send Kenny smashing into the back door.

Clementine was kept in place by Rebecca's arm that moved in front of her chest, and Alvin's leg that was placed on front of her to stop her from sliding forward. She stared at Kenny while Sarita jumped up and skidded to his side. "Kenny! Kenny, are you okay?" she gasped, placing her bound hands on his chest.

"Oh… What hit me?" the bearded man asked, rubbing his face painfully.

"It's probably for the best…" Carlos muttered, receiving a nod from Pete and a shrug from Alvin. "How come?" Clementine asked, moving away from Rebecca and crawling closer to Carlos. He looked at her with a hint of concern on his face, and shook his head, "It's nothing, Clem."

The three year olds head spun to the door as it was pulled open. The light from outside blinded her after being stuck inside the dark truck for so long. She felt something go over her head and pull her backwards by the stomach. When her eyes adjusted after a few seconds, she looked up to see Pete with his bound hands around her waist, holding her on his lap.

At the door, Troy, Bonnie, Johnny and another woman standing outside. "Damn brakes ain't working for shit!" Troy hissed, facing the black woman with the curly hair; kind of like Rebecca's.

Kenny sat up and rubbed his head while Sarita stood up next to him. "Hey, how'd you get your bindings off?!" Troy yelled, watching Kenny get to his feet. No one answered, and Troy seemed to drop it as the prisoners all started climbing out of the back of the truck.

Pete kept a hold of Clementine' making sure to keep her hands hidden, just in case Troy got agitated that more than one of the had gotten out of the rope. Clementine looked around at the huge shelves in the building they were walking through, she admired the amount of food that each one held, and she smiled at a few people who waved at her when they noticed such a young person was joining the community.

As the group were rounded into a small garden, Bonnie stopped Pete, Clementine and Nick, "Stay away from the wall. Carver can see if you're messing with it." Pete nodded and started walking forward again, but Nick stayed still, staring at Bonnie momentarily. "Thanks, Bonnie…" he muttered before following his uncle into the pen.

Troy and Johnny untied everyone, Johnny spending a little longer with Pete and Clementine, "I'm warning you now, I'm not gonna be there to save your as- you next time, so behave yourself and I'll seeya around." he said quietly, only loud enough for Pete and the girl to hear.

"I'll be good." Clementine told him, watching him acknowledge her statement, but not look her in the eye. "I'll keep her in line." Pete said, backing the girl up on the case he was only starting to understand. Johnny finished collecting the rope and said a quick goodbye before leaving with Troy while the gate was shut and the group were left standing by it, depressed and confused.

A man with one arm approached them from a small fire surrounded by lawn chairs. "Hey, guys." He greeted, smiling warmly at the group.

"Reggie!" Rebecca gasped, pulling the one armed man into a hug, "What happened to you?!"

Reggie shook his head, pointing to his stump with his other arm, "Don't worry, this happened way after you guys left." He assured her. Rebecca didn't seem to hear him and began apologising. "I'm so sorry…" she whispered, staring at his stump guiltily.

"Really, It wasn't your fault!" he insisted, looking around at everyone else. He spotted Kenny and Sarita, not even noticing Clementine who looked around the yard from where she was in Pete's arms still.

She was ignoring everything happening around her as she stared at a blonde haired woman sitting by herself on some benches across the yard. They both held each others gaze, even from so far apart, and neither showed any signs of looking away anything soon.

"…and lastly there's Clementine." Rebecca mentioning her name brought the girls attention back to everyone at the gate. Pete stood her down and she pushed through Kenny and Sarita to see the new man. "This is Reggie, Clem." Rebecca said, informing the girl about the man on front of her.

Reggie kneeled down and beamed at the youngest girl. "She's so cute! Hi, Clementine." He chuckled, watching her examine his face carefully. "Hi!" she chirped, finally smiling at him as her gaze wandered to his missing limb. "Hey, where's your arm?!" she gasped, reaching out to touch it in case it was invisible, but not feeling anything.

"Clementine!" Alvin laughed, shaking his head at the girls blunt question. Reggie just laughed along with him, "It's alright. I lost it, sweetie." He told the girl.

"Can we find it?" she asked innocently. Rebecca put her hand on the girls head. "I don't think we can, Clem." She said, sadly. Clementine frowned at this information. She raised her hand and offered a determined smirk. "You can have mine if you promise give it back!" she stated, turning to face the others who had all started laughing at her.

She smiled innocently, not understanding what was so funny, but just being happy with everyone else. "Thanks, Clem…" Reggie stood up and gave his attention to the grown-ups. "I'm lucky to be alive. And Bill says I'm doing well and should earn a place back in the community soon! Look, guys, it's not that bad here, I mean when's the last time you had electricity?!" he exclaimed, smirking at everyone, but only receiving shocked gaping stares from his old friends.

"Actually we just came from a ski lodge with a wind turbine and-"

"It's not a competition…" Reggie's face fell as he cut Sarah's excited explanation off before he was made more of a fool than he already seemed to be.

"Could you keep it down over there?! Some of us gotta work in the morning…" A man shouted across the garden, making everyone look his way. Clementine couldn't see him, but she didn't really care.

Noticing Nick leaving the scene by the gate caught her attention. She pulled on the closest sleeve to her, which just so happened to be Pete. He bent down to her level and looked at her sombrely, waiting for her to speak. "Am I allowed leave?" she asked kindly, smiling sweetly at the greying man just to add some sugar to her request.

She learned that it can get her a lot of things.

Grown-ups were so stupid.

Pete smiled at her and nodded his head. "Yeah, Clem. Go on." He said, standing back up and looking at Reggie once more. "Sorry about that…" Reggie's apology to the mysterious man was the last of the group's conversation Clementine heard before she started making her way towards Nick; who had climbed into one of the make shit beds out of old wooden shelves.

He was in the middle shelf, one that was too high for Clementine to see onto from up close. As she quickly made her way towards the beds, her eyes locked with the silent woman at the picnic table once more. Their eyes only held the gaze for a second before both girls lost interest and looked away.

As Clementine came to the side of the shelf, Nick sat up from his lying position and leaned on his elbow to look down at her. "Hey, Clem…" he greeted glumly. The three year old twirled her foot nervously before asking, "Can I, uh, sit with you?"

Nick looked taken back by her request, but shook that look off his face and lay back down. "Sorry, Clementine, but I'm tired. I'm gonna hit the hay." He explained. He'd always have an excuse not to be stuck with her, but the young girl often got around him. He wondered what stupid sob story she would have this time.

If she told him she was lonely again like that time she made him hold her hand, he would send her on her way.

He grew curious of where the girl had gone since she hadn't spoken and everything just went quiet. He opened his eyes and looked to the side, seeing the toddler with her shoulders slouched, pouting at the ground.

With an exasperated sigh, Nick sat up and swung his legs out of the bed (being careful not to hit Clementine). His feet barely reached the ground, and he was the tallest member of the group! "What's the matter?" he asked, softly, feeling a hint of sympathy for the girl who had to grow up in such a shit world, "Do you really wanna hang with me that bad?"

Clementine shook her head, completely missing the joke in his question. She lifted her head, and with a heavy heart she opened up to the shabby man. "I…I…I miss Luke…" she admitted, the frown on her face pulling down more.

Nick's mouth hung open as he thought about his friend that had gone missing. Nick missed him, and he knew Luke and Clementine had grown close, so her loss of him must have been hurting a little more.

He leaned forward and lifted up the girl sitting her on his knee, like back outside the small shack at the bridge. "He's coming back, Clem. He'd never abandon us; we're family, and family always have each other's backs, no matter what!" he exclaimed, making Clementine wonder what other surprising things would come out of the usually silent, depressed man's mouth.

"B-but Kenny said-"

"Ignore Kenny! He doesn't know Luke like us. I know he'll come back. I know it! You gotta have a little hope in him, Clem! So what do you say? Luke's coming back?!"

By now the group by the gate had moved to some lawn chairs by a small fire in the middle of the garden. When they heard Nick's loud question, they turned to look at him and Clementine with amused expressions.

The three year old giggled at the hidden Nick that had revealed himself to her. "Luke's coming back!" she chanted, throwing her hands into the air and making Nick chuckle slightly. "Alright! Just, uh, don't tell anyone about this…" his words died on his tongue when he stole a glance from Pete and noticed everyone had heard his exclamation.

With a shake of his head, Nick rubbed his eye, with his hand that wasn't around Clementine's back, tiredly.

"Does you know any story?" the girls question caught him off guard. It was just one of those things he never understood about her; the questions that just came out of the blue.

She was a puzzle.

"Um, nope. Don't know any stories." He said, watching her amber beauties try and pry into his soul through his icy blue shields. A smirk suddenly appeared on his face as he cockily stated, "I thought you didn't like stories, anyway."

Clementine's eyes widened in shock at this accusation and she shook her head vigorously. "I love stories! BUT, only at sleep time…" she explained, watching Nick's smirk slowly disappear off his face.

Well, I guess every day's a school day.

"Oh…" he dumbly muttered, feeling shot down at his attempt to belittle the child. He knew it was mean, but he was just messing around and trying to live a normal life for once. He didn't know why he was even trying; He knew she was sly and could easily turn the tables, humiliating him while he's at his weakest point.

"So you're tired?" he asked, receiving a nod and a yawn to prove it.

"I'll tell you one, if you want…" she said, a hint of childish excitement joining her tired optic emotion revealers.

Nick didn't answer straight away, he was too busy thinking about how she managed to lighten the mood and find some good in any situation. Instead of facing the facts that Nick didn't have a story for her, she offered to make one up instead; giving both of them the same entertainment boost any known by heart classic ever would have.

"'Cos you said _you_ were tired, so a story can help!" she explained, leaning closer to him so she could get comfortable before starting her tale; if Nick allowed it.

She was keen on rubbing him the wrong way sometimes, but he was the adult and he knew what was best, so if he didn't want a story, then she wouldn't argue.

Although she was good at using what knowledge she could gain against people, she was still only a child and she depended on her guardians guidance, no matter how small of a situation it was she needed their insight on.

What they said went; it was basic knowledge for any child, even one growing up in the apocalypse.

"O-Okay, Clem. Tell me a story." Nick said, making her beam up at him and settle into his arms more. They sat on the edge of the bed for twenty minutes listening to the story that Clementine ever so carefully thought up.

Nick found himself getting lost in the sometimes inaudible muffle or jumbled up sentences she was trying her hardest to say clearly and properly. Surprisingly, he actually understood what she was trying to get at. She was telling him about a whole bunch of people he assumed she just made up; such as Lee, Duck, Lilly, etc.

She mentioned his name a few times and the rest of the group too. In the end, she took a short pause, leaving an awkward silence to linger in the air around them, before finishing, "Nick was a stronger than the monsters and he stopped those from scaring all the group! He saved our _family_! The end."

A proud smile made its way onto Nick's face. Clementine had made _him_ the hero of the story and that, much to his surprise, warmed his heart. "That was great, Clem! And I'm _so_ tired now. Ready to sleep?" he asked, only realising how tired he really was after the girl had stopped talking for good.

She nodded her head once more before cuddling closer to him, closing her eyes, and catching the burly man off guard. Nick shifted uncomfortably on the bed, finding the girls warmth against his stomach awkward and unnerving. He made an oath he wasn't going to get attached… "Uh…Clem?" he started, about to tell her to get lost and find her own bed.

Instead, he realised her breathing had slowed down and she had fallen asleep on his bony lap. He looked over to the fire, where the group were still discussing something he didn't want to be part of, and made a decision. He was _not_ keeping the toddler for the night. Not then, not ever.

He carefully stood up, being careful not to wake the girl, and held her in his arms like the baby she realistically was.

She was very skinny, incredibly light, and very short for her age. He could have mistaken her for a two year old, maybe even younger! It played in his mind, how the truth of the situation was that she was growing up, probably almost four years old, and she didn't know the true dangers the were faced outside. She was weak, innocent, and had a huge heart. He didn't want to destroy her innocence, but it would eventually have to happen.

He approached the people on the lawn chairs. "Can someone take her?" he asked, the pleading tone of his voice not being hidden at all. He received a smirk from his uncle, which he scowled at before facing the others.

"I'd take her, but I ain't sure I have anywhere to lay her down…" Kenny said, scratching his beard awkwardly as his lack of experience with children beamed through his brute personality.

Rebecca stood up and put her arms out, offering to take the girl, "She can share my bed. It _is_ the only one with a mattress…" she whispered, being careful not to wake the child who was bound to be grumpy if she was awoken by such terms as talking.

Nick handed her over gratefully.

Clementine stirred in Rebecca's arms but luckily didn't wake up. The soon to be mother walked over to her bed and laid the girl down on the still bouncy surface. The girl was going to enjoy jumping on that when she realised it was possible.

Rebecca knew there was no covers, but the toddler was bound to be used to sleeping without one by now. She made her way back to the chairs while Nick got back into bed and almost instantly fell asleep.

Clementine gained consciousness and closed her eyes tighter after hearing a loud screeching noise, and Troy's voice calling out for everyone to get to bed.

She noticed two things; one, she wasn't in Nick's embrace anymore, and two, she was alone.

Just before she peeled her eyes open to see where the man she was with last went, she felt someone else lie down beside her. A hand was placed against her cheek and Rebecca's quiet voice reached her ears, "Shhh, go back to sleep, baby girl…"

The woman's words became fainter and quieter as complete darkness consumed the three year old once more.

* * *

**Chapter 9:**

* * *

Clementine awoke to her stomach rumbling. She realised she hadn't eaten since the day before, and even then she only had a few mouthfuls. The small girl sat up and looked around the bed, wondering why she was put there, but not complaining. She had a comfortable night for once.

Next to her, Rebecca lay on her back, asleep. Clementine put her hand on the woman's arm and shook her awake. With a groan, Rebecca opened her eyes and smiled at the three year old sitting next to her. "Good morning…" she greeted sleepily, "What time is it?" She sat up and looked around the pen to see everyone else still sleeping.

Clementine sat back, but looked at Rebecca with a careful stare. "I'm very hungry…" she whined, rubbing her belly childishly. The older woman looked over to the fire and saw the empty cans that the group had helped themselves to the night before; while Clementine annoyed Nick.

They had forgotten to feed her.

She turned back to the girl and lay back down, preparing an excuse. "It's too early for breakfast, Clem. But you'll get something to eat when Bill comes to wake us." She explained, watching the toddlers eyes grow in displeasure.

Instead of complaining more, she pulled herself over Rebecca, making the woman chuckle at her actions and carefully slid off the bed, landing on the ground with a quiet thud. Rebecca rolled over and looked down at the girl. "Where are you going?" she asked. The answer came in the form of a pointed finger in the direction of the bunks; Nick's bunk to be more precise.

A tired smile formed on Rebecca's face and she allowed the child to leave, knowing she was going to get on Nick's nerves once more.

Clementine ran to the side of Nick's bed, and looked at his sleeping form. He was snoring quite loudly, but not as loud as Kenny of course. His arm hung down off the surface just in front of the girls face. She took his surprisingly bulky limb in her tiny hands and pulled it down.

The man moaned and pulled his arm up away from the child, resting it on his stomach. Clementine huffed and stood on her toes to try and wake him again, but couldn't reach. She took a small step forward, but stopped when she felt her foot hit something; or more, someone.

"Ugh… Clem…?" Sarah rubbed her eyes after the toddler stepped on her leg, "What are you doing…?" she asked, sitting up off the bed on the ground and crawling out to be with the younger girl. The little girl was always up to something.

"Waking Nick." The girl responded, trying to grab any piece of the man's clothing she could get her hands on, sadly not being tall enough to reach anything. Sarah stood up next to her and smirked down at the toddler while pushing her red rimmed glasses up her nose.

"You're doing it wrong, Clem. Here…" The teen lifted Clementine up under the arms and sat her on top of Nick. The man didn't react, only took in another deep breath and released it again shortly after.

The little girl sat on his upper torso and gently placed her hands on his chest. She leaned closer to his face; their noses gently brushing off each other. "Nick?" she whispered, watching as his eyes brows furrowed together.

Clementine's eyes looked to the right to see Sarah giggling at their behaviour. She looked back down at Nick's somewhat grumpy face, wondering if he was actually sleeping, or if he was just ignoring her.

She leaned even closer until their foreheads were touching; both their caps falling off as her hands made their way to his ears. "Get up!" she ordered, shaking his head from left to right lightly as his icy blue eyes slowly opened groggily and locked with her yellow wolf-like peepers.

He jumped slightly in surprise before letting his eyes close again and sighing tiredly, "Clem…?" he moaned, not appreciating being woken up like that. Clementine sat back away from Nick's face as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and sat up, making the girl slide down onto his lap.

He picked his hat up off his pillow and covered his long, greasy, black hair with it. Almost thoughtlessly, he scooped up the D marked cap off his lower legs and placed it back on the three year olds head too, making her smirk up at him, even though he didn't take notice of it.

"What are you doing up so early…?" he asked, rubbing his hand down his face sleepily, "And how's you get up here?!" His head snapped to his left after seeing movement and saw Sarah standing next to the beds, trying to supress her laughter. Nick put two and two together.

Those girls were going to be the death of him.

"I wanted to play until breakfast!" the girl said, watching Nick roll his eyes before they looked over to the burnt out fire, and the empty cans by the set up. "They didn't save us nothing?!" he whispered, more to himself than the girls, but Clementine still shook her head.

Nick handed Clementine to Sarah and stood up, stretching his arms above his head before facing the lawn chairs. "I'll be over here, if you need me… Actually, just wake someone else if you need me." He said, leaving the two children at the beds, taking a seat with his back to them.

Sarah stood Clementine down and sat back down on the floor bed. "I'm tired. I'm gonna get a bit more rest, it's too early..." she said, laying down and closing her eyes. In a matter of seconds, Sarah was sound asleep again.

That left Clementine alone once more.

She looked at the other bunks, everyone still sound asleep on the uncomfortable wooden surfaces. She was planning on bugging Nick some more, but something else caught her attention. The woman from the night before was taking a seat in the exact same spot as last time, only now, an African American man was sitting across from her, albeit with his back to her and the table.

Clementine made her way over to the two new people, feeling as curious as ever. When she reached the side of the bench, she started pulling herself up onto the seat next to the man. He lifted his head away from his hands that were clasped on his knees and looked at her climbing up, his eyes wide as if only realising there was a kid that young with the newcomers.

Once she was on the seat, Clementine stood up and walked closer to the man. She extended her hand to shake his, "Hello!" she greeted, hoping these weren't bad guys. The mans shocked expression left his face and a smile replaced it. He put out his hand and took hers gently. "Hey." He said, his voice deep and manly – deeper than Luke's or Nick's anyway.

The three year old recognised the voice as the man who wanted the group to be quiet the night before.

Sometimes, the girl wondered why her memory was so good, and why her remembrance of almost everything that happened to her since the monsters started walking was so clear. She thought it was normal to remember every detail of information people told her, but other people couldn't even remember what someone said only minutes before.

Maybe she was more special than she first thought she was…

"Um…I'm Clementine." she introduced herself, feeling the other woman's eyes burning into the side of her head. The man released her hand and nodded his head, "I'm Mike."

With an accomplished smile on her face, Clementine turned her attention to the woman. "Hi…" she said quietly, locking eyes with the short haired, dirt covered woman. When the stranger didn't reply, the girl scowled.

Mike placed his hand on Clementine's shoulder, making her turn to him once more. "Don't take it to heart, kid. That's Jane. She doesn't talk much…at all." He explained, not looking at Jane while he spoke, but receiving a glare that he knew was coming.

The toddler looked at Jane with a raised eyebrow, watching the woman study her face while they were so close. "Is her words lost with Reggie's arm?" Clementine asked, looking at Mike for the answer. A moment of silence was followed by a wave of laughter from Mike as he banged his fist on the table. Even Jane smirked at the question, but hid it well.

Clementine smiled at Mike's actions and in the corner of her eye, saw Nick turning to face them, probably wondering what kind of trouble she was getting herself into. She didn't really care; these people were much more fun than she had expected.

"I-I don't think her voice is lost like that, kid." Mike finally calmed down enough to answer the question; "I think she's just hiding it, right Jane?" They both turned to look at the woman, who only stared back nonchalantly.

The three year old felt a hand place on her shoulder and looked up to see Nick behind her. It was an awkward hold on her shoulder as he looked at Jane and Mike cautiously. Only Clementine had had the decency to communicate with them so far.

She turned around and lifted her hands, waiting for him to pick her up so she could tell him what she had found out. He picked her up and she leaned close to his ear, "Jane is hiding her voice." Nick gave her a glare, one that made her frown, before replying, "Don't be rude, Clementine. We don't know these people."

She looked at the side of his face as he apologised for her bothering them. It felt as though she had been stabbed in the heart by his words of disappointment. Was she really being rude?

"No, man, It's fine. She wasn't doing nothing annoying, in fact, I haven't had a laugh like that in a long time!" Mikes words entered one of her ears and went out the other. She pushed away from Nick, kicking her legs childishly. He looked at her confused, trying to keep his hold on her as she kicked his legs. "Let go…" she whined, pouting at him as he stood her down.

She turned her back on him and the two others and slowly dragged her feet to the lawn chairs. Instead of pulling herself into one, she sat on the ground cross-legged and looked around at the other survivors.

She knew Carlos would want Sarah to rest, not play with the toddler, so she couldn't go to them.

Rebecca was really tired, she knew that, and if she woke Alvin he would just go to his wife and keep her company.

Clementine knew Pete was old, and she felt that waking him would be mean.

The only other people she could turn to were Kenny, Sarita and Reggie.

She didn't know the one-armed man well enough to nag him, and she still had to get to know Sarita.

The young girl's eyes landed on Kenny's snoring form. He was out like a light, cuddled up next to his partner. Clementine knew he had a temper, and when he got mad, she got scared. She didn't want to risk waking him up in case he got angry or cranky at her.

Her eyes made their way back to Nick, who was having a nervous conversation with Mike while Jane listened in, and then to the two empty shelves – one on top of the other; a bed for her, and a bed for Luke.

She longed for him to come back now. She just wanted someone she knew she could trust to offer her some comfort, and to sit with her and talk. Sadly, Clementine knew he wasn't around to do any of those things, and he probably wouldn't be for a while. Her lips pulled down into a frown as she thought about him.

She began to wish she could just go back and be with Christa, before anything bad happened, when she was perfectly content with traveling alongside the smart woman. She was fed regularly, and was _always_ treated with respect. She missed it; she missed Christa!

The first tears appeared in her eyes. She clenched her fists, mentally scolding herself for being such a baby. She hated being weak, but the truth was, she _was_ weak. She was a three year old, malnourished, hungry, wimpy, baby who wanted nothing more than to cuddle up with her loved ones and be happy.

A tear dripped onto her hand and she roughly wiped it off, losing her temper over the salty liquid seeping from her eyes. She made sure she held her breath to stop any sobs from alerting Nick because she knew he would only pity her and nothing more. He wasn't the best guardian in the world, but he did have his moments.

That didn't make the girl feel any better though.

Her head hung low as she cried silently, until she hear the gate to the pen being pulled open. Her head turned in its direction and she saw Troy and Carver walk inside. "Wake 'em up. I want a word with them all." The leader ordered, making Troy nod his head and follow the command, making his way to the sleeping residents.

Carver had a cold, emotionless glare on his face as he scanned the yard, eyeing the men and woman at the benches carefully, before finally finding Clementine. His gaze softened and he started walking towards her.

She didn't know what to expect. She knew he was mean; a brute, but she also knew he had a soft spot for her. She was torn between thinking he was going to berate her for crying, or comfort her and offer her sympathy.

The man kneeled down next to her, and placed his hands on his thighs. Clementine found this strange, as he was the first person who didn't try and pick her up straight away. She liked that about him. Although it was only because he didn't like showing his caring side much, the young girl was still glad he was treating her somewhat older than everyone else did.

"What's wrong, Clementine? Is someone giving you a hard time?" he asked, instantly indicating he didn't trust Nick and Mike by glaring at them momentarily. The girl shook her head. "What's the matter then?" he asked, his tone clearly hoping it wasn't something stupid like she was tired or hungry.

Although she was hungry, she decided to tell him about Christa instead. "I m-miss Chrisa…" she admitted, squinting her eyes in annoyance at how childish she sounded. Carver nodded his head understandingly. "Is she family, or just someone who took care of you before?" he asked, trying to prove to her he was there for her, not a threat.

He was determined to make her join his side, especially since Rebecca showed no signs of surrendering his child back to him.

"She…She's not mommy, but…" she trailed off as a sob rose up her throat and escaped into the air around them. As the groups started to wake and make their way to the gate so they could hear Carver's speech, they all looked at the exchange between the mad-man and the little girl, each one worrying for her safety.

"It's okay to miss people, Clementine, and it's okay to cry, but you have to learn to keep going. I'll help you along the way, and offer you my condolences, but that's all I can give you. Why don't you come with me over to the others so I can tell you all what you'll be doing today?" The leader explained, watching as the girl climbed to her feet sloppily.

She didn't really understand what he was saying, but she knew it was good by the way he had spoken. His voice was soft and, almost unsure of what he was saying was helping at all. Clementine could tell by the way he paused regularly in between his sentences.

It seemed he really cared. As if to prove his point more, Carver opened his arms out, offering a hug to the surprised girl. She looked at him curiously for a moment before falling into his embrace and taking the comfort she could get from him.

She wiped her eyes and regained her bearing before standing back from the man and allowing him to stand up. She raised her hand to take his, which he mirrored and they walked over to the group by the gate.

Clementine half expected Carver to release her hand and send her to stand with the rest of the group, but he didn't. He kept a firm grip of her tiny hand and let her stand next to him on front of everyone else. She tried to ignore the worried glances from her friends, but they were really getting to her.

She missed most of what the leader was saying as she locked eyes with Sarah. The teen looked happy, but also sympathetic. Clementine offered her a smile, which Sarah returned before paying attention to Carver at last.

"So, now that we've covered that, you should all know where you're supposed to be today. Get to work!" The leader demanded, taking his eyes off the prisoners to look at Clementine, "And you'll be coming with me."

The little girl nodded her head and let the older man lead her out of the pen, towards their destination. She had no idea where they were going, but she had a small sense of trust with the man everyone else despised. He wasn't that bad, she didn't understand why everyone was so scared. He had put a gun to her head, but she forgave him! Why couldn't the others?

Everyone else was heading to work and she was following her most mysterious acquaintance yet.

It was then that she grew curious.

_What was it she was going to be doing?! _

* * *

**Chapter 10:**

* * *

Clementine looked around at the huge structure for only the second time in her life as she was lead away from the pen by Carver. She admired how tall all the shelves stood and how friendly the guards were being to each other.

Someday, she wanted to be like them; nice and friendly, but brave and able to stand up for themselves _and _a whole community.

"Sir!" The leader and the toddler's heads spun in the direction of the call. Johnny jogged towards them, his weapon in hand, his green woollen hat still covering his black, messy hair. He had a frown on his face, and it was topped of with annoyance in his eyes.

He and Nick shared similar hairstyles, they even shared some similar characteristics; both were fond of Clementine, but didn't like to show it, and they both had relatively negative attitudes towards, well...everything!

"What is it?" Carver asked, giving his signature glare that everyone had received on more than one occasion. The man was very threatening when he wanted to be, but Clementine had found his soft side. It was a rare side to even get a glimpse at.

Johnny fixed his weapon in hand, gave Clementine a small mumble of a greeting, and locked eyes with his boss. "The two you put out in the expansion-"

"Michael and Kenneth."

"Yeah… Well, they're butting heads. Troy's out there with 'em, probably doing nothing to stop them, and sent me to find you." He explained, rolling his eyes at the mention of his fellow guard.

No one liked Troy, he was hated by the whole community; Carver included.

With a roll of his eyes, the man in charge took his walkie off his belt, "Vince? Vince, pick up the damn radio." A second of silence was followed by a static buzz, then a reply of "Yeah?"

"Get your ass to the expansion and knock some sense into the two new arrivals. Troy can't do anything by himself…" Carver ordered firmly into the device. He still kept a hold of Clementine's hand while he spoke to Vince.

While the scarier man was busy, Clementine found herself smiling up at Johnny as he looked around cautiously. When his eyes landed on her again, a look of surprise ran across his face before he awkwardly smiled back and nodded his head just as nervously.

"Get back to your post, Johnny." Carver said, placing the radio back in its holder and leading Clementine away from the area. Just as they turned to leave, Clementine heard Johnny mutter a tired, annoyed, sarcastic line that brought a small smirk to her face.

"Yes, sir, Mister Carver, sir…" He turned on his heels and slowly made his way back the way he came.

Once the duo came to the bottom of the stairs leading up to Carver's office, Clementine stopped abruptly. She stepped up onto the first step slowly, being careful not to fall.

"Come on, Clementine. Climbing stairs will be the least of your problems." The statement made the girl slightly nervous, but she picked up the pace as she let the man pretty much drag her up the steps; she just jumped and she was on the next step beside him.

Once at the top of the stairs, Clementine's hand was released and she was motioned to enter the office first. She didn't complain and followed the simple order, stepping into the neat, surprisingly well-decorated room.

Carver walked in behind her and closed the door gently. He walked over to his desk and took a seat on the edge of the wooden surface, looking down as the three year old walked towards him, staring up at him curiously. "Do you know why I brought you up here?" he asked, picking up an apple that could've been real or fake, and spun it around in his hands.

Clementine shook her head, waiting for him to explain. Carver smirked and placed the apple back in the glass bowl on the edge of the desk, "Are you, some namby-pamby baby, or a big girl, Clementine?"

The young girl's eyebrows furrowed together at the question. She was just a kid, but she definitely wasn't a _baby_. "I'm a big girl!" she exclaimed, the certainty in her statement making it all the more amusing to the leader.

"What about your group, Clementine. Do they think you're a big girl?"

That question caught her off guard. The three year old could easily say they did, but she knew it would be a lie. The group saw her as nothing more than a toddler they needed to protect since it was 'the right thing to do.' Her eyes softened as the realization hit her.

She shook her head at the question.

Carver's smirk turned into a caring smile. "I'm going to teach you some things, Clementine; some really important _survival skills._ Do you know what they are?" he asked, standing up and kneeling down on front of the girl.

She stuck her finger into her mouth and though about it for a minute. She knew 'survival' was 'staying alive'. She already knew about all that, so why would she need to learn.

Carver took her long thinking session as a 'no' and began explaining, "Survival skills are things like shooting guns, hunting food from animals, knowing which berries are good and which are bad…"

"Staying alive?" Clementine finally put her understanding into the conversation.

Carver nodded his head, "Yeah. Staying alive. You're a little young to shoot a weapon yet, but there is an alternative…" He picked her up under the arms and stood her on his desk, pushing his belongings to the sides away from her foot zone.

"You're size will be your main strength, but your age will be your weakness. Being so small, you can be stealthy and masterful in dodging, but a gun is out of the question for any three year old. The recoil would knock you down flat, or worse, injure _you_ instead of the enemy." The man explained very careful and slowly, making sure he was actually teaching the girl something and not just ranting a bunch of gibberish.

"I'm going to train you in the art of throwing; throwing knives to be more exact." Clementine's eyes widened at the idea. She had always been told not to mess with knives. They were dangerous. "It'll be hard to master, but it's the only skill your little arms can handle. Are you ready to prove to everyone that you ARE NOT some baby they can boss around?!"

The girl had grown surprisingly excited listening to Carver's speech. She had watched other people kill the monsters; they were the_ hero's! _If she did it too, maybe she could finally be the hero of her story!

"I'm ready!" she exclaimed, determined eyes being joined by a childish smirk.

Carver took two small knives out of his back pockets; they were much sharper than normal knives though. He pushed them down into the pockets of her little jacket, making the blade pop out through the bottom so only the handle stuck out at the top. She could easily pull them out, but they couldn't fall completely through. It was genius!

Carver stepped back to admire his work. He smirked at the girl he had given Ninja-like-looks. "Take them out, Clementine." The man said, standing back further, and watching the girl intently.

She did as he asked and pulled the two small black handled knives out of her pockets, holding them on front of her uncertainly. She wasn't sure if it was the best to hold them close to her small body. She was scared they might hurt her, which was a reasonable thing to fear.

"You see the door over there?" Carver's question pulled the three year old out of her doubtful thoughts and she looked to the door to the office that the man was pointing at. "Throw the knives at it. It's okay if you miss."

Clementine looked back down at the knives again, her heart started beating harder in her chest. She lowered her left arm so that knife was held at her side and lifted her right hand and weapon.

"Please be lucky…" she whispered under her breath, preparing to throw the knife at the door. There was about 10 feet between her and the object she was required to hit. She threw the knife, luckily making it actually go away from her and towards the wooden structure.

Sadly, the knife didn't reach its target. It did many flips and rolls, but landed on the floor just short of the door. She frowned at her failed attempt while Carver picked the knife up off the floor and started walking towards the girl on his desk. "Here, let me how you…"

...

"Okay, Clementine. That's enough for today. You did good, but tomorrow I want it to be better. Tomorrow, you will hit the door, yes?" Carver said, taking one knife from the girl and picking the other up off the floor for the fiftieth time that morning.

Clementine nodded her head, and scratched her nose nervously. "Are you mad…?" she asked, worried that she had let the man down by failing to even throw her knives as far as the door.

Carver placed the knives on the side of the desk and picked the girl up under the arms. He stood her down on the ground and sat where she was standing on the table, "No, I'm not mad. We'll get it tomorrow, I know we will."

Clementine didn't understand why he was talking about them both when she was the only one doing anything, but she didn't verbally question it. "I'll get Johnny up here to escort you back to the pen for lunch. Then you're helping Bonnie for the rest of the day." The leader explained, pulling out his radio and pressing the button on the side.

"Johnny, come on up to my office and bring the girl back to the pen. Now." A second of static was followed by "On my way."

A minute of silence passed as Clementine and Carver just stared at each other, the man smirking, while the girl just stared. The door opened and Johnny walked inside. "Come on." He said, motioning for the girl to leave the room.

On the way out the door, Clementine looked over her shoulder and waved to Carver. "Bye-bye!" she chirped, smiling at him childishly at last. He gave a small wave back, "Goodbye, Clementine."

Johnny closed the door and sighed loudly before lifting the girl into his arms and making his way down the stairs. "So, uh, what were you doing in there?" he asked, the caution in his voice being clear to the girl.

She just shrugged her shoulders and sat in his arms patiently. Johnny smirked at her. "When'd you get so quiet?" he ridiculed. Clementine smirked back at him, "I was just learning." She said, watching Johnny's eyes flash in confusion, and misunderstanding.

"Oh… Okay." He said, dropping the topic and standing the girl down so she could walk herself. She took his hand, and they started walking back to the pen. The stroll was quiet, but in a good way.

Once they arrived at the gate, Troy welcomed them with a strained frown. "Finally." He muttered, opening up the gate, "You're the last to arrive." Johnny let go of Clementine's hand and she walked into the pen, being greeted by Sarita who was standing nearby talking to Reggie.

"Clem!" Sarah called, making the girl run towards her with a smile on her face. The older girl was kneeled next to the burnt out fire and lawn chairs, eating something from a can. It was a familiar food; one which had obviously been taken from the ski lodge.

Rebecca was sat across from the teen and, as Clementine made it to Sarah's side, being given a sideways hug from the ecstatic girl with the glasses, offered the toddler a worried frown.

"You were with Carver, right, Clem?" The soon to be mother asked. Clementine nodded her head, curious as to what was coming next. "What were you doing this morning? I didn't see you around..."

Clementine remained quiet.

She didn't know if telling the woman, or anyone for that matter, that she was learning how to throw sharp knives was a good idea. She didn't want to get in trouble with her group, but what she feared more, was getting in trouble with Carver.

She trusted the man, but not as much as she trusted the group. Keeping it to herself, her and Carver would be the only one's to know that she was in a small amount of danger up in the office.

If she told Rebecca, the woman would probably get upset and demand that the training get's cancelled. That was what Clementine feared would happen, anyway. For all she knew, things could go completely different.

That was not her main problem right then, though.

Her main concern was coming up for an answer to Rebecca's question, and quickly. Her eyes locked with the pregnant woman's caring gaze, and she opened her mouth to start explaining...

* * *

**Chapter 11:**

* * *

"I was learning…" Clementine said, twirling her foot around and dodging the woman's gaze. She wasn't going to lie, but she was going to try and avoid telling everything. She was scared Carver would be angry, and knew the group would understand later if they found out she was holding knives.

"Learning what?" Rebecca asked, handing a can to the little girl, who took it graciously. Clementine shrugged her shoulders and sat down next to Sarah, "I's learning up in the office." She said, purposely messing up her speech, so it didn't really make since to her either.

She started eating the beans from the can as her eyes looked up to see Rebecca's confused face. "Well, uh...did you have a good morning? You didn't get hurt or anything, did you?" the pregnant woman asked, eating her food again and dropping the previous suspicion about what the toddler had been doing all morning.

Clementine shook her head and ate more food. It tasted so good after the morning she had spent trying not to complain since her stomach was completely empty. She was already feeling more happy than earlier that day.

"Why were you crying earlier, Clem?" Sarah asked, placing down her empty can and looking at the younger girl next to her. The three year old, who stopped eating abruptly, let her eyes fall to the ground. She remembered the feeling of helplessness she had felt that morning, and didn't want to talk about it.

Luckily, Rebecca came to her aid. "I'm sure she was just tired, Sarah." The woman said, although she knew something was wrong with the youngest member of their growing group. She would get it out of her later that night.

"Hey, Clem." Reggie greeted taking a seat next to Rebecca while Sarita sat on her other side. "Hi!" the girl chirped, some food falling out of her mouth and running down her chin. Sarah used her sleeve to wipe it away while everyone laughed at the mess.

"Are you doing well, Clementine?" Sarita asked, smiling warmly at the girl. The child nodded her head and eagerly placed another mouthful of beans in her mouth. The nice way people talked to her always made her feel better. She didn't understand why everyone couldn't get along like that all the time.

The grown-ups began to talk about something boring, and Clementine lost interest. She looked around the yard and saw the mute woman sitting by herself once more. The toddler squinted her eyes in search of Mike, but couldn't find him. The she realised Kenny was not present either.

Nick was making his way over to the people by the fire, a fresh can in his hands. "Hey Nick!" Sarah greeted, waving at the man enthusiastically. His eyes found Clementine's and they had a mental conversation.

His eyes softened as if he was saying 'Sorry…' since he thought it was his fault the girl had cried earlier that day. Clementine smiled and stood up, handing her food to Sarah. He then raised an eyebrow, pointing to his chest and raising an eyebrow as if saying 'was it me?'

The girl shook her head and wrapped her arms around his legs. Nick placed his hand on her head. "What was wrong with you earlier, Clementine?" he asked. The girl looked up at him, almost about to tell him everything. She stopped herself from speaking, just letting a strangled croak, that was supposed to be a word, escape her mouth and then shutting it again.

Everyone looked at her expectantly. She really wanted to tell someone, but she didn't know who. Nick was nice, sometimes... but Rebecca was friendlier. Maybe Sarah would keep it a secret. Clementine didn't know.

If Luke was here, she'd definitely tell him…

"Listen, Clem. I know Luke isn't around to keep you safe, but if something's up, I'll try and help you out. First you need to tell me what's wrong. And don't say nothing, 'cos we all know your lying." Nick's words made Clementine's lips pull down into a frown.

She was going to tell him.

She had to.

Not only would it get it off her chest, but it would also mean someone else would know besides her and Carver, so she would be safer. Right...?

"Okay…" she whispered, earning a few confused 'huh?' from the people around her. Nick heard her loud and clear though and smiled victoriously. "Alright then. What's up?" he asked, bending down to her level as she continued to keep her arms wrapped around him. Her little limbs now latched around his left arm.

She looked around at everyone else, only noticing then that Carlos was also nowhere to be seen. Her curiosity got the better of her and she looked to Rebecca for an answer. "Where's the others?" she asked, growing concerned for her group.

Rebecca just smiled and continued to eat, "Kenny and Mike got in trouble for arguing instead of working, so they're not getting lunch. You'll see the at dinner tonight, don't worry. And Carlos is eating lunch at the clinic so he can get straight back to work when he's done."

Clementine nodded her head slowly, "Oh…" she mumbled, remembering Johnny and Carvers conversation from earlier. "Clem?" Nick asked, pulling her attention back to him. He was waiting for her to start explaining. She noticed everyone else still listening in and shook her head. "I can only tell you…" she whispered, holding onto his arm a little tighter.

He seemed hesitant at first, but decided that the request was fair enough. He scooped the girl up into his arm, making her sigh in frustration since she was always babied, and walked over the bench that Jane sat at. The woman looked at them both blankly before continuing to eat.

"So, did something bad happen, Clem?" Nick asked, sitting the girl on the table on front of him, so her back was to Jane. The girl shook her head, "Is not _bad_…" Nick raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?" he asked, preparing to hear something he didn't want to hear.

Clementine scratched her little nose and placed her hands on her lap. "I'm learning a _survival skills_!" she exclaimed, looking at him with excited eyes. Nick only stared back, confused by what she meant.

"What?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. He didn't understand her sometimes, and that surprisingly made him embarrassed. He watched as the girl thought for a minute before seemingly realising what to say.

"I throwed a knife! And Carver says I'm do good…" she trailed off as Nick's mouth gaped open and his eyes widened.

"Knives?! Like, as in, sharp, pointy, dangerous _weapons?!_" he gasped allowed, making Clementine's eyes widen in fear as her hands flew up to his face and covered his mouth. "Don't tell! I'm get in trouble…" she cried, shaking her head as Nick calmed down.

He moved her hands away from his face and rubbed her back soothingly. "It's okay… I'm not gonna tell anyone." He said, calming the girl down. Her breathing had picked up in the scare, but Nick's kind gesture helped it go back to normal.

"She _is_ pretty good at it…"

Clementine spun around to follow Nick's gaze and saw Jane looking at them, interested in what they were talking about. "You talked!" Clementine chirped, smirking at the woman, who actually smirked back.

"What the hell are you talking 'bout?" Nick asked, furrowing his eyesbrow's together in confusion. He had only wanted to help Clementine out, not get sucked into keeping a secret and hearing some crazy things come from a crazy woman's mouth.

"I was working on the roof, got bored, and decided to snoop 'round up there. There's a skylight above Carver's office, and when I looked inside, I saw your girl throwing some deadly customised throwing knives at the door. She didn't hit it, but she was getting close. I think, since they're customised by Carver, their small size will make it easier for her to throw them. If she loses them in combat though, she'll have nothing. Normal knives would be too heavy for her and-"

"Who said anything about her going into combat?!" Nick spat, not even considering it as an option. What kind of freak would send a tree year old onto the fight zone?

"Well, we are in the zombie apocalypse…" Jane started, watching Nick's defensive side show clear.

"So?! She doesn't need to fight anything! She's three years old! We'll keep her safe." He shouted, making Jane only scowl back at him. Mike walked towards them, ready to break up whatever was happening. "Whoa…What's going on here?" he asked, looking to Jane, who went mute again, and then to Nick and Clementine.

Jane continued to eat, sending Nick a cold glare. The man just sighed, picking up the girl off the table and standing her down. "Nothing." He said, standing up and walking back over to the fire where everyone else was. Clementine smiled up at Mike and then ran after the other man.

She took a seat next to Sarah again and put her hands out, waiting for her food to be returned. The teen handed it back and Clementine sat down, hitting into Nick who had taken his place next to her.

The gate opened a few minutes later and Tavia, who let them out of the truck the day before, walked inside. "All right! Time to get back to work!" she said, making everyone start to get up and leave.

Clementine was the last to stand, wondering how she was going to get to Bonnie. She didn't know where to go. "Clementine, sweetie, I'll bring you to the armoury where Bonnie's waiting for you, okay?" Tavia smiled down at the girl.

The three year old smiled up at the guard and extended her hand to take the bigger one. She was led out of the pen, towards the armoury.

...

"Hey, Clem." Bonnie greeted, scooping the girl up into her arms once Tavia left and closed the door. The armoury was quite big. A work bench sat at the far wall, across from the door. Two chairs were sat next to it and a huge crate of ammo sat in between them.

Bonnie sat Clementine in one of the seats and then took her place in the other chair. "Are we doing _this_?" Clementine asked, pointing to the box. Bonnie looked a little shocked, and shook her head. "No, no, no! I…uh…don't think that's the best option for a youngster like yourself." She explained, looking around the room for anything else to work on.

The toddler just pouted and sat back in her chair.

Carver was right.

Her age was her main weakness.

Bonnie noticed her moody little huff and chuckled, making the girl look at her confused. "What…?" she asked, changing position so she was kneeling on the huge chair she had been placed on.

Bonnie smiled at her and sighed contently, "It's just…been a while, since I've been around someone so innoc- cute. Around someone so cute and adorable, like you!"

Clementine cocked her head to the side slightly, then smiled at the woman. "Can we play a game?" she asked, kneeling up in her chair excitedly. Bonnie looked conflicted with the idea of ignoring work, but the young girl's glistening eyes tricked her into it. "Okay, fine. What'ya wanna play, city mouse?" she asked, helping the girl out of the chair.

Clementine looked around the room for anything to use as a toy, but didn't see anything that caught her eyes. Instead, light coming through the half closed door made her smirk. She pushed Bonnie's legs as hard as she could, making the woman stumble backwards a little and chuckle at the action, before running for the door squealing "Tag!"

She was the master at tag. She had learned from the best; Duck.

Bonnie's smile fell as Clementine disappeared out the door. "No! Wait!" she gasped, opening the door wider and running out in search of the girl.

The three year old ran around one of the shelves and continued to run down the aisle until she came to the other side. She could hear Bonnie coming behind her, and looked around for her escape. She saw a red door, and some young boy walking away from it, leaving it open a tiny bit.

That was all Clementine needed.

She scurried towards it and slipped through the gap, coming out into fresh air. She looked around the small, walled in, outside section that she didn't know about. "Clem!" Bonnie whisper-yelled, making the girl start walking towards the other end of the expansion she had just found.

She stopped in her stride when Troy appeared on front of her. He had come out of the room at the end of the walkway, and looked at her angrily. "What'd you think you're doing out here?!" he hissed, walking towards her threateningly.

Clementine was frozen in place. She couldn't turn around and run, she knew she didn't have a chance.

"Cl-! Oh, Troy…. Clementine is just gonna come with m-"

"You know she ain't supposed to be out here! Wait till Bill hears 'bout this… I'm gonna have to teach you a lesson, young lady." Troy's venomous words made tears form in the toddler's eyes. Her amber beauties widened in fear as Troy raised his hand, preparing to deliver a smack across the face.

"Troy, this isn't gonna help anyone…" Bonnie's attempt to calm him down was ignored.

Clementine closed her eyes and whimpered as she prepared for the punishment. "This'll teach you…" the man's crazed words scared the girl much more than he had expected.

Clementine heard a door open and the abuser on front of her exclaiming, "What the fu-!" before grunting in pain. Bonnie gasped from behind the three year old. The little girl took a frightened step back before opening her eyes and looking up to see what had happened.

Troy was sitting on the ground, holding his bleeding nose with both hands, while Clementine's saviour stood before her, his fist clenched angrily as he stared down at Troy with hatred in his eyes.

He had saved her again.

Her tears became those of joy, not fear. Bonnie ran forward, making the man turn around, slightly scared, but upon seeing the two girls behind him, he calmed right down and smiled warmly. He rubbed his fist lightly, since it hurt from hitting the other man.

"Luke!"

* * *

**Chapter 12:  
**

* * *

Out at the expansion, Luke bent down as the three year old little girl jumped into his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck as best she could. She smiled into the crook of his neck as she breathed in his scent. She missed his pine woods smell.

The man leaned away from her and inspected her face with tired eyes. He turned her head to the left gently with his hand and continued to scan her quickly. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" he asked, only taking his eyes off the girl momentarily to watch Bonnie walk past him and kneel next to Troy.

As much as she wanted to help Clementine and Luke, she'd rather pretend to help Carver and his team, so she would remain off the mad man's suspect list.

Clementine shook her head at Luke's concerned questions and just started at him with a big, toothy smile. "You came back!" she laughed, taking hold of his sleeves and holding on so he wouldn't disappear or anything.

Luke's worried frown turned back into a smile as he pulled her close to his chest and sighed in relief. "Of course I did!" he mumbled into her cap, exhaling loudly as he finally stopped worrying about Clementine's well being.

Their moment was cut short when Luke was pulled back by the hair, wincing in pain. Troy pulled the other man up by his brown locks and then grabbed hold of Clementine's wrist when she tried to step back.

She tried to pull away, whining as he tightened his grip. "Owwy! That hurts!" she shrieked, getting dragged along while Bonnie trailed behind silently. The woman opened her mouth to act against Troy, but shut it quickly and stared at the ground guiltily.

Luke was about to protest against their care, but shut up as his hair was gripped tighter. "Stop your whining, girlie. Unless you want another slap, and this time your 'daddy' over here won't be able to save you." Troy snapped, pulling the girl along faster into the building, and past a few confused people in the community.

One of them, Clementine recognised through her teary eyes. "Whoa, what's going on?" Johnny asked, placing his hand on Troy's chest to stop him striding towards Carver's office. He looked at Luke with arched eyebrows and then down to Clementine.

Troy turned to Bonnie, almost forgetting her part in the discovery of the orange shirted man's hiding, and young girls breaking of the rules. "Bonnie! Go on and get everyone back to the pen. Do it, or I'm tellin' Bill 'bout you letting her out of your sights." He smirked at the red head as she nodded her head and departed, ready to gather the prisoners and escort them all back to the pen.

"You didn't answer my question, Troy." Johnny said, frowning angrily at his co-worker. He kept his hand on the more unstable man's chest, knowing that the bad tempered man would more quickly shoot the two prisoners than let them away with whatever it was they did.

Troy just scoffed and pulled Clementine forward more, making her whimper. She was terrified of what was going to happen. She had even forgot Luke was there with her, because she could do nothing but let tears stream down her face and stare at what was on front of her; Johnny.

"These two are gonna be in some trouble when I'm through with 'em, now if you'll 'scuse us, we've got places to be." With that, Troy marched forward, leaving Johnny to stand by himself, gun in hand, watching the two prisoners be roughly dragged towards the boss's office.

Once the trio reached the steps leading up to the main office, Troy let go of Luke's hair. He moved his hand to the new comers back and pushed him up the stairs saying, "Walk, asshole." He then continued to drag the young girl up the steps behind them. She stumbled a few times, but Troy just continued to pull her up behind him.

Luke was shoved into the office, stumbling slightly but not loosing his footing, and Troy threw Clementine forward with such force, she skidded on her hands and knees, receiving minor carpet burn on both her palms.

Carver sat behind his desk, hand clasped on front of him, smirking at the people by the door.

"Found 'em out by the expansion, boss." Troy stated, blocking the door so neither person could escape. Luke rubbed the back of his head painfully, stealing a few worried glances at the girl on the floor, snivelling like the child she was.

"Good work, Troy." Carver praised, keeping his eyes on the newest returned escapee to his camp. "Where've you been, Luke? Run off, leave us down seven people, then abandon the survivors you talked into leaving with you and let them get taken back, free of charge? As long as you were free, that was fine, is that it? None of my men were killed or anything, but one of yours was. Isn't that right, Clementine?" the man's smug words made Luke mad, and bringing the young girl into the conversation made her even more upset.

He shook his head and clenched his fists, but remained where he was since he knew a gun was trained on his back. "Leave her outha this! Who died? Who are you talking about?!" he hissed, watching Carver's smirk remain plastered on his face.

"I thought I made it clear? Clementine's gonna tell you who died, aren't you?" he said gently, but also cunningly. The three year old stood up and rubbed her hands painfully. She thought back to the moments when someone had died at the ski lodge. It took her a minute to get herself back together, then she looked up at Carver and quietly mumbled, "Walter…"

The man sat back in his chair, "I can't hear you, Clementine?"

The girl wiped her nose with her sleeve. "Walter." She repeated, louder this time so everyone heard her clearly. Luke looked relieved since it wasn't one of his cabin members. They were all okay, which meant his hard trek to the camp was worth it.

Hopefully they'd forgive him for leaving them behind like he did. He had a plan the whole time, though. He was always coming back for them, no matter what the outcome could have been. He was really glad they were all okay in the end, though.

Carver nodded his head, then his smile faded and was replaced with an evil frown. He stood up from his chair and approached Luke menacingly. Clementine stood watching, fearing the unknown.

She didn't know what to expect, so when what happened, well, happened, she freaked out.

The leader's fist connected with the side of Luke's head, knocking the younger man off balance, making his stumble to the right, towards Clementine. Luke received another punch to the gut, which knocked him to his knees with a grunt. Carver's foot hit the southern man square in the face, knocking him to the ground painfully, then hit him again in the ribs.

Luke coughed loudly and wheezed as he rolled around on the floor trying to get a shot of his own in. It was only as Carver raised his foot up to kick the younger man a third time, that Clementine ran on front of him and cried out for him to stop.

The man lowered his foot and looked down at the girl with an amused smile. "I'm not finished yet, Clementine. Move outha the way." He ordered, but the girl stayed where she was.

She was not letting this happen. Not after she only got her team mate back.

The man's smiled faded and was replaced with a frown again. "He has to be punished." He stated, waiting for the girl to move as he demanded. She just shook her head. "I-I'll be _p-punished_ instead!" she said, prepared to do whatever it took to save her guardian.

She let Lee leave her, she let Christa leave her, she was not letting Luke leave too.

Carver looked down at Luke on the floor next to the door and smirked, "This girl's got more balls than your whole group put together." He then turned back to Clementine, "It's gonna hurt, but, since you're willing to put yourself on the line for someone else, I'll only hit you once. Does that sound like a fair enough deal, darlin'?"

The girl thought it through momentarily, debating whether or not that was a fair trade. With a heavy heart, she nodded her head as more tears obscured her vision.

"N-no… I'll take the beating, just don't touch her…!" Luke tried to get up, but Carver just pushed him back down onto the office floor with his foot. The man raised his hand and sighed.

He surprisingly looked like he felt bad for what he was about to do, "Just…close your eyes and it'll all be over in a minute. Then you two can sit up here for the rest of the day, under a watchful eye, in silence to think about what you've done. Later you can come back to the pen with me and get dinner."

Clementine closed her eyes and held her breath. A lone tear ran down her cheek and her lip quivered uncertainly. Luke kneeled up and leaned out for the three year old, "No, wait-!"

The sound of Carver's hand making contact with the young girls face echoed around the room. Clementine fell to her side, lying on the ground in a daze. Luke pulled her into his arms and held her close as she wept into his shirt.

Troy stepped backwards out the door, letting Carver walk past him. "I'm going to talk with your friends; let them know what's happened today. Troy, stay up here and don't let anyone in, don't let anyone out." The leader ordered, making his way down the stairs away from his office, and the two people he had just punished.

Troy stepped back inside the office and closed the door. "Don't move, or I'll shoot you both. Understand?" he asked, cocking his gun in their direction.

Luke just turned his back to the man and held the girl closer. "Shhh, Clem, it's okay. Stop crying, you know I hate when you're sad…" he whispered, watching as his baby held her face in pain.

He gently pulled her hand away from her face to see the red mark from where she was hit. He gently caressed the bruising area with his hand and shushed the girl. She looked up at him with hurt eyes, but managed to stop crying even though her face stung.

She lifted her hand up and brushed her fingers across the small, bleeding scar under the man's eyes from where Carver's boot hit him. He smiled at her and took her hand away from his face, holding it in his palm.

"Everything's gonna be okay, I promise. We'll think of a way out of this, I know we will. Our team will beat Carver's, but we have to wait it out, okay?" he whispered quietly so Troy wouldn't hear them.

Clementine snuggled into his chest and nodded her head. She was ready to get out of that hell-hole. She was glad Luke was treating her somewhat older than she was, explaining his plan to her, even if it was basic and common sense.

Her eyes slowly closed and darkness consumed her while Luke rubbed her back soothingly.

They sat on the floor of the huge office, holding each other tightly as if, at any moment, one of them would be taken away.

For good.

* * *

"Is she okay?!"

"What happened?!"

"Dad…?"

"I'll kill him! I'll fucking kill him!"

Clementine felt herself being rocked gently in a pair of strong arms. She didn't know who it was at first, but then memories of her time in Carver's office came back to her, and she was almost certain it was Luke.

"She's fine! Be quiet, Kenny. Can't you see she's sleeping?" Now she was certain it was Luke. She peeled her eyes open and groaned as she tried to get Luke to stop holding her like a baby, rocking her like one too.

"How are you doing, Clementine?" Alvin asked, smiling at her while Luke sat her in his arms properly. She didn't respond and just scanned the people around her. Everyone was there; Pete and Nick, Rebecca and Alvin, Carlos and Sarah, Jane, Mike, Reggie and Luke. They were all stood next to the gate to the pen, looking at Clementine and Luke concerned.

Her cheek still stung, and she pouted as her hand ran across the hot flesh. Being woken from a nap was certain to make her a little grumpy. "Luke, come over to the chairs and I'll check your wounds. Leave Clem over here for now, and I'll check on her later." Carlos said, pointing to the lawn chairs.

Luke handed Clementine over to Nick, muttering "Hey, bud…" before following after Carlos.

"I think we need to have a group meeting, talk about what the plan is. I'm sure Luke has a lot to tell us, too." Pete suggested, watching as his nephew quietly talked to the youngest girl, pulling her hand away from her bruised cheek, only for her other palm to hold the injury.

"I agree. Bec can't have the baby here. It's not safe!" Alvin joined in, pointing out the obvious. "Can we not eat first? It's been a long day…" Rebecca walked off to join the people by the fire, making Pete and Alvin follow behind her.

Jane turned to Nick and Clementine as Mike walked away, and inspected the damage to the adorable little face. "You're a tough kid, Clem." Jane whispered, watching the compliment register on the girls face.

Clementine winced and leaned closer to Nick, feeling him tense up at the touch. She didn't care, she was tired, she was hurt, and she just wanted him to hold her for a minute. She pressed her pained cheek against his chest, attempting to find some way of making it stop hurting.

It was then that she felt a large hand get placed on the side of her head and push her closer to the man. She realised Nick had accepted her into his embrace and smiled as she settled in his arms. She watched out of the corner of her eyes as Nick walked across the yard with her held close to him and took a seat with the others around the fire.

"I think Bonnie's our only chance." Mike had said as Clementine sat on Nick's lap, cuddled up to his warm form.

"I think we might be able to get Johnny on our side too. He looked like he wanted to help when Troy was tryna take us to Carver. But, just like Bonnie, he stood down." Luke explained as Carlos checked his ribs and face. So far, everything seemed to be okay. There were no broken bones or anything, just a few scratches and bruises.

"I'm not leaving here until that crazy bastard is dead." Kenny stated angrily, stealing a glance at the little girl that he had known for so long. Nick noticed the older man's caring gaze and released Clementine from his hold, although she didn't pull away from him.

"Do you want her?" he asked, watching the bearded man's eyes widen since he wasn't expecting anyone to notice his worried side. Instead of turning down the first chance he'd had to have some real time with the girl, he nodded his head.

Nick looked down at the three year old, and lightly brushed some hair out of her face. Every eye was in his direction as he acted in a fatherly manner towards the little girl. It was clear he wasn't sure what he was doing, but he was willing to do anything to make the girl smile or laugh, and just be her annoying little self again.

"You wanna go to Kenny, Clementine?" he asked, looking up at Pete, almost as if looking for guidance, receiving a proud smile from his uncle. The girl leaned back and allowed Nick to hand her over to Kenny. Once in the older man's arms, she wiggled around trying to find a comfortable spot on his knees.

She found that leaning back into his arm was the most relaxing spot, and she could see everything and everyone around her as a little extra than what she was getting with Nick.

As the group started talking again, Clementine looked up to meet Kenny's warm gaze. "How're you now, Clem?" he whispered, inspecting her cheek while he had a clear view of it. Her eye was bloodshot and watery and her cheek was turning from red, to purple. Kenny felt his blood boil, but calmed himself down when he locked eyes with the girl.

She looked so innocent sitting in his lap, staring up at him childishly. "It hurts…" she said, frowning at him at the mention of the injury. Thinking about it made it hurt so much more.

Kenny tilted his head to the side, as he mumbled a quiet 'aw' under his breath, "It'll get better, Clem. And I'm gonna get that sonuvabitch back for what he did to you, don't you worry…"

Clementine furrowed her eyebrow's together and looked at him with a questionable glare. "That's a swear, Kenny." She stated, catching a few people's attention, but losing them just as quick.

Sarita turned her attention away from Sarah, to the man and child on her other side. "Kenny, watch your language." She scolded, making the bearded man chuckle. "Right, right, I'm sorry. I'm just not used to a youngster being 'round." He said, offering a smile to his partner, and then the girl.

Clementine couldn't help but smile back. When Kenny smiled, it was only natural to smile too.

"Is you in trouble…?" she asked, tilting her head to the side curiously while she blinked her huge amber eyes to make him talk. He sighed, but continued to smile down at her, as did Sarita. "Naw, Clem. Me and Mike were just…having a disagreement on the situation…" he trailed off as he thought about being denied lunch earlier that day.

Clementine let her gaze wander to Sarita. She admired the woman's beauty. It wasn't easy for a woman to hold onto their physical beauty now a days, but Sarita seemed to manage just fine. Kenny noticed the girls gaze fixed in his girlfriend and couldn't help but think back to his family; his actual family.

He sighed, gaining both the girl's attention again. "You remind me so much of Duck, Clem…" he admitted, smiling sadly at nothing in particular.

Clementine smiled at the mention of her friend. Whenever she thought of the good times she had with the crazy boy, it brought a smile to her face. She loved Duck like a brother, and was glad to have some part of him back again.

"Duck says at the m-o-tor inn," she sounded out the word, like Omid had taught her, "I can't be Batman, 'cos Lee is! I's not a boy too… But, then, he say 'Duck and Clem is way cooler than Batman anyway!' And _we_ d-d-defat…?"

"Defeat?" Sarita helped out, watching the girls grin grow.

"We _defeat_ bad guys, and Lilly is bad guy!" she giggled as she explained her fondest memory of the boy to the grown up's around her. Kenny smiled sadly while Sarita laughed along with the young girl. Clementine noticed Kenny's sadness and looked up at him confused.

"Don't be sad, Kenny. Chrisa say all the group is at heaven now. And that's a good place, isn't it? Someday, we'll go play with Duck and Lee 'gain. Maybe Chrisa there too!" she didn't realise that the whole group was listening to her until she stopped talking and heard nothing by the fire crackling behind on front of her.

"Heaven's a great place, Clem. And you're right; we _will_ see everyone again someday." The man said, smiling proudly at the little girl.

She didn't realise how much she just helped him by saying such a simple thing. Coming from anyone else, he probably would've flipped and told then no such thing would ever happen, but hearing the three year old tell him it so innocently, made him truly believe he was going to see his family again someday.

And until then, he'd have the curly haired little devil to keep him together.

Carlos stood up, whispering something to Rebecca which caused her to start a new conversation with her husband, and started to approach Kenny and Clementine. As he got closer he crouched down slightly, so he was closer to the little girl.

"Hello, Clementine." He smiled at the girl while he eyed her cheek. She smiled back, "Hello."

"I need to check your injury." He said, lifting his hand up to inspect her cheek. He was checking for any broken cheek bones so he had to push against it, making her jump and grab his hand painfully. "Ow…" she whined, trying to pull her face away.

Kenny put his hand on Carlos's and pulled it up, away from the cheek. The doctor looked up at the bearded man with a bothered frown. "I only have to do it one more time. Unless you want her to go around with a broken cheek bone that no one knows about…?"

Kenny let go of his hand and rubbed Clementine's arm encouragingly. "Just a little pain, Clem. Nothing more." He said, watching as she flinched at the other man's touch again.

A small smile made its way onto the doctors face as he took his hand away and gave the young girl a nod of reassurance, "It's just bruised, so in a few day's you'll be as good as new."

The young girl's eyes wandered to Luke who was eating quietly across from her while Nick mumbled something quietly which seemed to be amusing the mute brunette. "Is Luke okay…?" she asked, locking eyes with Carlos once more.

He nodded his head, but lowered his gaze. "I think you may have saved his life. He told me what you did for him." He explained quietly.

Kenny was not impressed by what he was hearing. "Are you saying that her beating saved that shit bird over there? That her getting hurt was a good thing?!" he growled, unintentionally scaring the girl on his lap. She reached forward for Carlos to hold onto, and the doctor wrapped his arm around her protectively as she snuggled up to him.

Sarita put her hand on her partners chest, "Kenny, please calm down…" she said calmly, her words actually having some effect on the man. He looked at Clementine's upset, sleepy face and sighed as his anger disappeared. "I…I'm sorry…" he apologised.

Carlos just stood up with the girl in his arms and went back to his seat in between Alvin and Sarah. Once sitting on the Spanish man's lap, Clementine decided she didn't want to be there anymore. She leaned over towards Sarah and wiggled free from Carlos's grasp.

She fell onto Sarah's lap face first, giggling as she struggled to get back up. Sarah helped her sit upright and looked at her with a wide smile. "What are you doing, Clem?" she asked, feeling the girl sliding down her legs onto the ground.

She turned around and smiled up at Sarah while her cap cast a shadow across her eyes. "Can we play…?" she asked, standing on her toes as she looked at Sarah's smirk. Before the teen could reply however, Carlos stepped in. "It's a little late to be playing. Aren't you hungry?" he asked, looking down at the toddler as she fell flat on her feet once more.

She shook her head, only realising how full, or maybe sick, she felt. Thinking about food made her feel unwell, so she just walked away from the man and his daughter. "I think it's time for bed don't you?" Pete asked as she walked on front of him where he sat next to Sarah and Nick.

Clementine shrugged her shoulders and stopped on front of Nick. She placed her hands on his knees and pushed her hat up away from her face so her eyes could do most of the talking. Once the cap was moved, the dim light made her bruised cheek appear much darker than the rest of her little, chubby, baby face.

"Does you have a story now?" she asked, widening her eyes in anticipation as Nick sighed and looked to Luke who was beside him. "See? I told you…" he muttered, turning his attention back to the girl. "I'm sorry, Clementine, but I ain't got no stories for you. None." He said, watching as her face fell drastically.

It was only when she stopped trying to be happy, he could see how truly tired and hurt she was. She leaned against his legs and closed her eyes, gripping under his knee's as she rested her head on the tips of his knees. "I want's a story…" she whined, squeezing his legs childishly.

She didn't hear anything for a minute, but then felt a pair of hands pick her up under the arms. She kept her eyes closed as she was sat on someone's knees and cuddled up to them. At first she thought she had broken Nick, but after smelling the sweet pine scent from the person holding her, she knew she was wrong.

"I've got a story for you." Luke said, wrapping his arms around her little form. Clementine sat silently waiting for him to start. "Don't you wanna know what it's about?" he asked, bouncing her on his knee lightly.

She nodded her head into his chest. He chuckled before starting, "It's 'bout how I got back to you guys. It was a pretty awesome adventure…" he trailed off as the girl coughed into his chest.

It seemed everyone around the fire froze at the sound of her chest rattling.

Clementine's eyes widened slightly at the noise, wondering if it was her that just made the sickly gurgle. "Was that Clem?" Reggie asked, watching as a few eyes went his way before turning back to the girl. Luke looked the most nervous as Clementine just held onto his shirt a little tighter, feeling the eyes on her back.

"Uh…maybe we should just get you to bed, my coughing little hero." He said, standing up with her in his arms, giving Carlos a quick glance, before approaching the two untouched shelf bunks. He kneeled on the ground to lay Clementine down on her bunk, but she clung to him, fighting his efforts to lay her down.

"What? Aren't you sleepy still?" he asked, giving up his fight and letting the three year old win a handful of his shirt in both hands. "Stay…?" she whispered, looking up at him half awake. He was surprised she hadn't passed out yet.

Instead of speaking anymore, Luke lay down on Clementine's cot, allowing her to lay her head on his shoulder and chest as she was protected by his arm which held her close at his side. "Is that better?" he whispered, feeling her barely nod against his arm.

They both stared up at the bunk above them; the one Luke was _supposed_ to sleep on. He was still wide awake, although he was pretty exhausted after his trip to Howe's.

Clementine was glad to have Luke back, and to have him soothing her to sleep. She had never went to sleep on her own before, someone was always there to hold her until she went into the world of dreams, nightmares, and other unknown entities.

As her breathing slowed and her eyes started to close, a small smile crept onto her face.

_Things were finally looking up._

* * *

**Chapter 13:**

* * *

Clementine woke up and felt the warmth of Luke's body next to hers. She was cold, even though with all the clothes she had on, she was usually perfectly fine. She opened her eyes, still feeling sleep looming over her, to be greeted with darkness around her.

Her breath hitched in her throat since the darkness was never something she enjoyed, but then remembered she had Luke with her and calmed down. Her half-awake gaze moved to Nick and Rebecca by the small fire, whispering quietly to each other.

Her curiosity got the better of her and she freed herself from Luke's loose grip, standing up with a small struggle. Her cheek stung as it came into contact with her arm that was rubbing her heavy eyes and she winced in pain, scowling into the dark as she remembered what had happened just the night before.

With quiet steps, Clementine walked over to the chairs, catching Rebecca's eye as she got into the area that the flames lit up. "What are you doing up?!" the woman gasped, making Nick turn around to see what she was talking about. For a minute, he thought she was talking to him.

Clementine tiredly dragged her feet over to Rebecca and let the woman lift her up and sit her on her thighs. "I'm cold…" she murmured, closing her eyes as the returned warmness of Rebecca's body made her realise how much heat Luke had been giving her before she left his side.

"Aw, I don't have any blankets for you, Clem. It sounds like you're coming down with a cold…" Rebecca whispered, holding Clementine closer, allowing her head to lie on her shoulder.

Nick cleared his throat and leaned forward in his chair so his crossed arms were resting on his knees and he was closer to Rebecca and Clementine. "I- uh…" he cleared his throat again and then sighed before straightening back up. "Clementine, I told Rebecca 'bout the knife thing." He revealed, watching as the girls tired eyes widened when she looked at him.

"Huh…?" she asked, hoping she didn't hear what she thought she heard.

"It's not safe for you to even touch a knife, and I was hoping 'Becca could talk some sense into Carver." He explained, remaining firm and thorough even though the girls expression showed hurt and betrayal, something he was hoping she wouldn't feel.

He only told to keep her safe, nothing more, nothing less. He was just looking out for her, and if that meant telling her secret, then that's what he was going to do. He knew everyone disliked him in some way or another anyway, but then it dawned on him; Clementine was the only one who didn't.

'_Didn't'_ being the key word, since, right then, she couldn't have hated him more.

He told her secret! He just gave her information away to someone Clementine was sure was going to tell Carver; especially since Nick mentioned that being his idea anyway. Her head snapped up to look at Rebecca's face with fear.

The pregnant lady just smiled softly back down at her, "Don't worry, Clem. I'm not gonna tell anyone, but you should have come to me anyway. Don't be sacred, nothing's going to happen. I'm just going to ask Bill to stop teaching you how to use knives. That's all. What are you afraid of?" Rebecca knew it was a stupid question as soon as it left her mouth.

Clementine lifted her hands slowly and placed it on her cheek, indicating that she was terrified of Carver hitting her again. Rebecca's face softened, and Nick's became filled with regret. "If Carver lays another finger on ye, I'll kill him myself." Nick stated, his eyes widening when he realised who was on front of him.

Rebecca just smirked before pulling Clementine closer to herself again for a quick, reassuring hug. "Everything will be fine. Now, go on back over to Luke and get some rest." Rebecca whispered, gently standing the girl down on her own two feet.

For some reason, when Clementine looked up to Nick, she couldn't feel angry at him. His blue eyes showed no intent of trying to hurt her, and it seemed that by staring into them, she realised that. His previous statement had also softened the blow he had unintentionally taken on her.

With a tired smile she lifted her hand and waved across to him, "Goodnight, Nick." She said, pronouncing the words precisely, and smartly, almost in a snobby manner. "Night." He whispered, offering her a small smile of his own.

She then turned to Rebecca next to her and placed her hand on the knee she had been sitting on only moments before, "Nighty night, Rebecca."

"Night, baby girl. Sweet dreams." Rebecca whispered gently placing her hand on the girls and rubbing the back hand lovingly. Clementine departed from the fire and made her way back to her bed.

Luke hadn't moved from his spot. He really was exhausted from the day before. She lay back down between his arm and his waist, resting her head on his shoulder again. His arm tightened around her gently, almost as if he was keeping her with him this time.

Clementine smiled as she saw this as his smartness and care being applied even while he was unconscious.

She closed her eyes and breathed out through her nose tiredly before letting sleep take over once again.

* * *

Clementine was awoken by quiet whisper of her name. At first she thought she was just hearing things, but when it reached her ears a second time, she opened her eyes and looked up to the left to see Luke smiling down at her. "It's time to get up, sleepy head." He said, sitting up and bringing her up with him.

She crawled out of the bunk on the opposite side of the man and stood up, looking around the pen for everyone else. It seemed the only people up were Alvin, Reggie, Jane and Mike.

Alvin noticed her and Luke awakening, but only stared at them momentarily before turning back to his wife on the bed he was sitting on. Reggie sat by himself, holding his head in his hand on one of the lawn chairs. Clementine saw Luke eyeing him suspiciously, but then stopped paying attention to them.

Once the girl's eyes landed on Mike, she started running towards him and his usual place on the picnic table. "Mike! G-guess what?!" she chirped skidding to a stop next to him. She had realised she forgot to mention something to him the day before...

He looked down at her with an amused smile, his eyes scanning her cheek, before landing on her amber orbs. "What is it, Clem?" he asked. Clementine looked over to Jane who was listening in on their conversation.

"Jane hads her voice! Did you hear it? Did you hear?!" she asked, practically jumping up and down. Mike looked across to Jane, a grin from one ear to the other on his face, "No. I didn't hear it. Jane…?"

The woman just rolled her eyes and lowered her head down to her crossed arms on front of her. To Clementine, she looked like she was thinking about something important. It was clear to see Jane was smart, and her thinking face was the one face Clementine could read.

When the woman stared at a fixed place and joined her hands together, she was in the thinking zone. Sometimes, if Clementine looked really hard, she could see different emotions in Jane's eyes; even when they didn't appear on the rest of her face.

It made Clementine feel like she was just as smart as the woman, even though in truth, she wouldn't be that mature and brain trained for a while. She was only three, and she knew when she grew up, things would change. How things would change, she still had to figure out...

"Howdy. I don't think we've been properly introduced…" Luke had followed the little girl to the new people, preparing to get on neutral grounds with everyone the group had taken in while he was away.

Mike put out his hand and shook Luke's. "I'm Mike. That's Jane." The half-eared man said, pointing his thumb to Jane.

Luke and Jane stared at each other for a minute, almost in a stupor, before Luke cleared his throat and looked away, "Uh, I'm Luke. It's nice to meet y'all. I can tell Clem's taken a liking to ye, so if she thinks you're cool, then you must be."

He chuckled at the end of his introduction as the little girl smiled at Jane. "Jane's not talking all the time, Luke. But, when she is, she's very nice. And Mike's a funny! You'll like him." She explained, turning to her guardian, who just nodded and smiled down at her.

Then, Luke clicked his fingers and lifted Clementine up before she could stop him. "I forgot to ask. Is your throat sore, Clem? Do you feel sick?" he asked, remembering the events from the night before. While she was in his arms he took note of her bruised cheek. It didn't look too bad, but on the toddlers face, it was a horrible image.

Clementine shook her head at his question, feeling much better than the night before. She was a little thirsty, and hungry… "Can I has some water?" she asked, watching Luke's face soften, almost as if he realised something. "When's the last time you had a drink?" he asked, standing her down and taking her hand.

The girl shrugged her shoulders, "I dunno…" They both walked over to the lawn chairs, where Luke picked up a half full bottle of water and unscrewed the lid. He gave it to the girl and watched her drink from it gratefully.

"I think you might've just been a little dehydrated last night." Luke explained, watching the girl pop the bottle out of her mouth and swallow the mouthful of water she had filled her cheeks with.

"Mornin'" Pete's voice reached the two survivors ears and they looked over to see him approaching them from his bunk, "Troy'll probably be here in a minute to send us to work. I think I'm getting a little too old to be moving boxes and stuff…" he groaned, placing his hands on his lower back and bending back slightly to stretch.

Luke looked at him with furrowed eyebrows. "Why don't you just tell 'em that? They're gonna work you to death if you don't try and stand up for yourself, Pete. Don't you remember all the time's you'd tell me and Nick to stand up for _ourselves_?" the young man quizzed, placing his hands on his hips.

Pete sighed and straightened back up again. "That was before the world went to shit- Sorry, Clementine. Besides, I'd rather work than be killed for not following the rules…" he admitted, lowering his head tiredly.

Clementine placed the bottle on the ground and looked up at Pete with concerned eyes. He'd be killed for not following the rules? But he'd also die if he did follow them…? She was starting to grow anxious, the feeling consuming her as Luke spoke up again, "Yeah, I guess you're right…"

To the little girl, they both looked like they'd just hit rock bottom. She didn't understand why they couldn't just leave. Carver would understand, right…?

"Up'n'at 'em, dirt bags!" Troy shouted, pulling the pen gate up and stepping inside, "Come on! This rooster ain't waiting all morning for you to get your asses out of bed..."

Clementine looked up to Luke with curious eyes, "Rooster?" she whispered, pulling on his sleeve to pull his attention away from the gate. She had never heard that word before, and she wondered what Troy was calling himself. Maybe it was a swear...?

Luke chuckled at her innocence and kneeled down to her level. "Do you know what a chicken is, Clem?" he asked, watching the smirk pull at her lips. She nodded her head, then continued to bock like a chicken. "Shhh, shhh..." Luke struggled to stay quiet as he shushed the giggling child, "A rooster is just a bigger chicken."

Clementine grinned from ear to ear, "Troy's not a chicken!" she stated, finding the situation just as funny as Luke did the first few times he heard Troy talk about himself as such an animal. She thought it was hilarious, but she stopped laughing when her name was called.

"Clementine! You'll be heading straight up to Bill. Johnny's waiting for you outside. Now, go on. You best not dawdle, girlie. Not unless you want another _punishment_..." Troy's threat caused many groans of annoyance from nearly everyone in the pen.

Clementine didn't waste a second, and quickly scurried away from Luke, past Carlos, under Nick's legs, and out the gate without giving Troy a second glance.

"Reggie! You're coming with me to the roof. Bill wants me to...go through some 'things' with you..."

The three year old saw Johnny waiting by one of the shelves for her to meet him. He stood up straighter when she came towards him, fixing his gun in his hands. Clementine reached up to take his hand, but when he didn't take it, she felt slightly saddened.

"I heard him talking earlier, 'bout sending you out? You know anything 'bout that?" Clementine looked up to meet the man's gaze. Neither of them had taken a step towards the office yet, but they were both okay with that.

"Out? To play...?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. If she was getting permission to go outside and play, she wasn't going to turn it down. She was growing bored being trapped out in the pen all the time. A little playtime outside would do her some good.

Johnny just shook his head, then lowered his hand to take hers. His eyes scanned her cheek as he looked down to find her small palm, but then looked forward again as if there was nothing wrong. He'd obviously seen it the night before. She latched onto it and started walking alongside the guard, "It's probably nothing. Forget I said anything."

It was then that Clementine started to grow nervous. She was headed back up to the office that she had received her punishment in the night before. Was she really ready to face the man again. The little girl swallowed her fear, gulping loudly, and continued to walk towards the stairs.

There was no telling what was going to happen next.

* * *

**Chapter 14:**

* * *

Clementine walked into Carver's office, hearing the door close behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see if Johnny had come inside with her, but, of course, he didn't. "Mornin', Clementine." Carver greeted, remaining seated at his desk. He had his eyes locked onto her as she shifted uncomfortably on the spot.

She wanted to ask where Luke was, fearing that he'd get hurt again without her; or more that _she_ would get hurt without _him_.

Carver stood up slowly and approached the young girl. She looked up at him, awaiting another blow to the face. She really feared the man, and he could tell by the look on her face. As she awaited another beating, the man bent down, causing her to brace herself for impact.

He lifted his hand, and Clementine only jumped slightly as his hand ran across her cheek gently. "I'm sorry about yesterday…" he whispered, pulling his hand away.

Clementine looked at him with wide eyes before lifting her own hand to her face and rubbing the dulling pain in her cheek. "It…It hurted…" she said, frowning at the abuser to let him know she was bothered by what he did to her.

The man just kneeled back on his feet and gave her a sympathetic frown of his own. "I know. I'm just doing what a leader has to do, Clementine. Do you understand?" he asked, noting her frown deepening. This girl was too smart for her own good.

She shook her head, and took a step away from the 'leader', looking down as she thought about what he just said. "Leader don't _has_ to do that!" she claimed, shaking her head at the thought of hitting people being something necessary.

Carver smiled at her statement, "But I did! Luke did a bad thing. I had to teach him that he can't do it again, and the only way he'll remember what I tell him, is if I cause him a little pain. Will you forget me hitting you? Do you forget _why_ I hit you?" he asked. Clementine thought back to the night before.

She remembered he hit her so he would stop hitting Luke. Was Carver trying to say, by causing pain, people would remember him and what he says? She still didn't like the idea of it, but it did make a little sense to her developing knowledge.

Carver stood up and approached his desk again. He opened one of the drawers and pulled out the throwing knives he had given the girl the day before. She felt her eyes widen as she thought about what Rebecca and Nick had said. Was it really as dangerous as they said it was…?

"Clementine?" She realised she was in a daze, almost panicking about holding the knives.

And Carver noticed.

"You told someone, didn't you…?" he asked, smirking as he placed the knives down and crossed his arms, staring at her as she just stood frozen in place.

Clementine was terrified, she felt her lip quiver, but quickly bit down on it to stop herself from crying. She didn't want another beating. "Nuh-uh…" she said, shaking her head. Carver's smirk never faltered, but he dropped the subject and motioned for the girl to come closer to him.

She waddled over to him and let him lift her onto the desk. "Are you ready to hit the door today?" he asked, handing her the weapons. She nodded her head as she fixed her grip on the knives. Carver stood back and watched her intently. "Go." He demanded.

Clementine lifted the knife and threw it at the door. The blade made a loud thud when it jammed into the ground, handle in the air right on front of the door. She looked to Carver for praise, but he just glared at her. "It's not good enough, Clementine. Again." He said, pointing to the other knife in the girl's hand.

She could feel her heart racing, panic striking her as she lifted her trembling hand. She threw the knife as hard as she could, grunting slightly as she leaned forward to improve the force of her throw. It still didn't reach its target. Carver sighed before retrieving the weapons. "You're getting better, keep trying."

…

Clementine had just finished drinking her small amount of water she had been offered. The leader kept her in his office for lunch since he wanted to finish up early and continue training.

The girl silently sat on the desk and ate and drank, not answering Carver's constant questions and statements about how he knew she'd told someone about training.

He seemed to realise he wasn't going to get it out of her if he kept playing nice, so as soon as she handed over her small plastic cup he had given her, the man stared into her eyes menacingly to show her he wasn't messing around, "Listen, Clementine. You're not in trouble for telling anyone, but you will be in trouble for lying to me."

Clementine's eyes widened and darted around the room as she tried to think straight. Her mind wandered to the still painful bruise on her cheek. She didn't want to be punished again. She finally gave in, locking eyes with them man again. She stood up and shook her head, "I'm sorry… I not mean to! B-but I told them…"

The man smirked before leaning on the desk with his hands so he was literally face to face with the three year old, "Told who?"

"Nick…" she mumbled.

Carver stared into her eyes for another moment before leaning back and putting the knives out to her. "We're done early, so we can start early." He said, stepping back and waiting for her to throw the knife.

On the door, there now hung a piece of paper from an old book that the mad-man found next to a radio behind his desk. A single thumbtack held it to the wooden aperture.

Clementine lifted her arm, the muscle aching from the amount of times she had done that exact movement in the last two days. This time, feeling a little less weight on her shoulders after finally telling Carver about her blabbing to Nick, when she threw the knife, the handle actually came in contact with the door.

It still hit the floor after contact, but she had finally hit the damn thing! She beamed at the man who smiled back at her from where he stood to her right. "Good job, now aim a little higher and throw harder so the sharp part hits the door instead." He said, turning his attention back to the door.

Clementine sighed tiredly as she lifted her other knife and raised it higher, preparing to throw it harder. With a grunt, she threw the blade, almost falling off the desk in the process. It hit the door higher, just under the piece of paper; the target.

This time, it didn't fall to the floor either; it stayed lodged in the wood!

"Better. Again." Clementine was growing tired of following orders. Her arms ached and she just wanted to go back to the pen. Part of her still feared being in the room with the man who would punish her if her had to.

"My arm hurts…" she whined, frowning at the man. He just stared back at her, his face emotionless, but calm. "Clementine, do you know what will happen if I don't teach you this?" he asked, taking a step closer to her, making her grow uneasy.

She shook her head. She really didn't know what would happen, since it obviously hadn't happened yet and she was three years living! At least…she didn't think it had happened yet…

"The walkers- 'monsters' don't care if you're only a kid. They'll get you eventually when no one like _Nick_ or _Luke _is around to help you. You'll _die_, Clementine. BUT, if you can defend yourself like I'm teaching you now, you'll live! And you'll be strong and brave and people will stop treating you like a baby!"

Clementine wasn't sure if what he was saying was true. Why had no one else ever mentioned it to her before? She was almost certain he was lying to her.

Carver leaned closer to her again, "Think about why you're _parents died,_ Clementine. To keep you safe. You need to learn to keep yourself safe or more people will die _because if you._" The man's words stung the child terribly.

She knew that was true. Christa had said it to her before, but in a more gentle way that the young girl mistook as something good, when it was the complete opposite.

_"They went to heaven so you could stay here on earth. They left to keep you safe."_

Clementine's eyebrows furrowed together and she prepared to throw the knife again. She stopped when Carver's radio buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and lifted it to his face, "What is it?"

"Sir, that kid in the blue shirt and the pregnant woman wanna talk to ye. Say it's important." Troy's sentence made Carver smile. The leader turned to face the girl on his desk, "Seems Nick told you're secret. I think that calls for a punishment, don't you?" he asked, watching as Clementine lowered her arm and shook her head violently, eyes widening.

"Why's that?" he asked.

Clementine looked at him with her mouth open in horror. This is what she feared would happen. Luckily, she had an excuse. "I-I knows he telled her. I…forgot to say Rebecca knows too…" she explained, watching as her lie was easily caught in the man's evil glare.

"Hit the target." He ordered, placing his walkie on the desk next to her. His smirk didn't fade like every other time. It seemed he knew something she didn't, but that didn't bother her too much. She was sure everyone knew stuff she didn't.

She'd learn some way or another.

She always did.

She lifted her arm, but just before she threw the knife, Carver spoke, "And if you miss this, Nick _will_ be punished." Tears pricked the girl's eyes. Why was he doing this to her? She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear the door opening.

With an upset cry, she threw the knife, almost in a tantrum state, and watched it fly through the air. She couldn't breathe as she watched her blade hit directly where the piece of paper would have been.

_Should_ have been, but wasn't.

Instead, the door was open and Clementine's knife had pierced into Troy's lower neck as he stood in the doorway. The man stared at the three year old with pained eyes before collapsing to his knees, and then falling to his side.

Clementine had killed Troy.

* * *

**Chapter 15:**

* * *

Carver chuckled quietly were he stood, like the maniac he was. Troy's corpse lay just inside the door, where he collapsed after Clementine's lodged her knife directly into his neck.

The leader moved from his place next to his desk to the empty area on the other side of the room, picking up his walkie talkie off the table that the three year old stood on as he walked past nonchalantly. Her eyes were wide, her mouth gaping open, her small hands trembling as she kept her arm reached out towards Troy from when she threw the weapon.

Carver started talking to someone, but Clementine didn't hear that. She just stared at Troy's corpse, letting tears fall from her eyes.

"Get everyone back to the pen. I wanna speak with them but first I've gotta clean up a mess…"

"What kinda mess?"

Clementine held her breath to stop the sobs from escaping her mouth as she lay down on her stomach on the desk and lowered herself onto the leader's office chair. She knew everyone was heading to the pen now, so that's where she was going.

She had just hurt someone who wasn't a monster. She couldn't live with the guilt of what had only happened minutes before.

Once her little feet landed on the chair, she slid off that too and landed on the floor with a quiet thud. Slowly and clumsily she stumbled to the door, feeling overwhelmed by the sight of the man she feared most lying motionless on front of the door.

Carver didn't even noticing her movements as he continued to talk with his back to her and the rest of his office. Clementine fearfully trotted past Troy's body and let the first sob escape from her mouth as she walked out the door and away from the murder scene.

She sat on the first step of the stairs outside the office and pulled herself down onto the next step, bouncing on her backside slightly. Her tears obscured her vision, but she didn't care. As soon as she was downstairs she began to run to where the pen was located. She heard someone shout her name confused, but she ignored it.

She rubbed her eyes as the pen came into view to see if it was still open. It was, and Nick was just about to walk inside. Although she wasn't traveling very fast with her little stubby legs, she was running low on energy and patience, and could barely think straight. She could hardly even move in a straight line!

Clementine cried Nick's name as she got closer to him and the pen, and continued to run as fast as her little legs could carry her.

Nick turned around to see who had called him, rolling his eyes as he already had a pretty clear idea of who it was. He rotated just in time to feel two small hands grasp his leg. He looked down at the girl, and instantly knew something was wrong. She had never cried like this before. It seemed she was truly hurt.

He picked her up under the arms and stayed where he stood outside the pen. "Clem? Clem, what's wrong?" he asked, trying to shush her. He awkwardly shifted her in his arms as she wept into his shoulder, clawing at his shirt trying to get a grip on it.

"N-Nick, I-" She tried to tell him what had happened, but she could speak. She could barely breathe. Between her heart-breaking cries she coughed convulsively, and this caused Nick to worry more. "Shhh, Clem. Calm down…"

The girl struggled to breathe more as her whimpers only grew more frantic. She began sweating, trembling even more as she squealed in pure horror as the images of Troy replayed in her mind. She covered her face with her hands, balling them into fists and rubbing at her eyes.

Nick turned on his heels and jogged into the pen. "C-Carlos, somethings wrong." He said, catching everyone's attention. The group members tried to talk over each other and all the girl could hear was a chorus of jumbled questions. Clementine felt a pair of hands wrap around her waist, but she just screamed bloody murder and they let go.

She remained in Nick's arms, trying to find time between her sobs to tell him what she had done.

"What happened?" Luke asked, keeping his eyes on the little girl who howled in his best friends arms. Nick shrugged his shoulder before explaining, "She called my name and when I turned around she was like _this_, clinging to my leg!"

Rebecca stepped forward, "Clementine, sweetie, what happened?" she asked softly, rubbing the girls back in an attempt to sooth her. The toddler lifted her head and locked her teary amber eyes with the woman's. The disgust on her face was all too real.

"I-I… He…" she was hyperventilating, struggling to get the words out while everyone started to panic at what could've happened. They didn't hear any gunshots, so no one was shot or anything. They really had no idea what got the girl so upset.

Carlos placed one hand on Clementine back and the other on her chest, "Shhh, Clementine. It's okay, just breathe…" he soothed her, but it didn't do much help. She wriggled free from his hold and pressed her face into the crook of Nick's neck, getting her tears and mucus all over his skin. He shivered at the feeling, but held her close none the less.

Her sobs suddenly became noticeably quieter, and Nick looked down at the growing girl in his arms. He was noticing that she was growing up; in size, in appearance, but not in weight. She still weighed as much as a bag of flour.

Her hand was up by her face, her thumb was in her mouth again as she continued to cry, but was calming herself down slowly. Luke tried to take over, but Clementine was set on staying with Nick.

The guard at the gate that witnessed the first scene of the problem walked in and told everyone Carver would be down to speak with them in a while before leaving and locking them outside in the yard, not really caring about the baby who was practically living a nightmare.

Nick walked over to the bunks, like Carlos had suggested, and sat down on his designated sleep spot. He was going to try and calm fown the toddler, but he wasn't sure if he could actually do much. All he knew was that she was clinging to him, and that meant he was stuck with her until she calmed down.

"Clementine, what's the matter? You're…kinda scaring me a little…" he said, sitting the girl on his lap so her head rested against his chest and the hand that wasn't at her face wrapped around his back and grabbed onto his shirt.

She mumbled something through her sadness with her thumb blocking the words. Nick gently pulled her thumb away from her face, "What was that?" Clementine looked up at him ashamed. "I… I-I did something bad…" she revealed, more tears clouding her vision.

Relief washed over Nick's face for a second before a new wave of worry hit him. "What did you do? Wait- Where you doing those damn knife lessons again?!" he suddenly gasped, making the girl flinch. Clementine nodded her head before lowering her head and sniffling as Nick pulled her closer to him and up higher on his knees.

"Rebecca, can you, uh, come here for a minute?" he called, using his eyes to explain to her on her way over that something was not right. "Is everything okay?" she whispered, holding her stomach with both hands. Clementine noticed this and noted that the woman's stomach was getting bigger.

"She says she did something bad, up at them stupid throwing knife lessons that dumbas- Carver's been givin' her." The young man literally bit his tongue to stop the swear from leaving his mouth. Even in such a terrible moment, the teary glare Clementine sent him put him in his place.

Rebecca opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Kenny. "Hey! Is everything alright over there?" he asked, asking on behalf of everyone else in the yard, who stood close behind him, watching the exchange of words over by the bunks.

Luke stood directly behind Kenny, looking over the older man's shoulder to see the girl. He was going to go and investigate, but something told him Nick and Rebecca had calmed her down before while he was away; that they had more experience. He didn't want to make things worse, so he stayed put with Alvin.

Carlos offered to help out, after sending Sarah to Sarita so she wouldn't be corrupt by whatever had destroyed Clementine's day, but his help was denied.

"Please stop crying, Clementine…" Nick sighed, growing irritated by her clinginess to him. He wanted to hand her over to Rebecca, but she seemed to have an iron grip on him. Surprisingly, she stopped crying as he begged, but when he looked down at her, he saw why.

She was holding her breath, tears continuing to drip from her eyes. She sniffed in through her nose hard and huffed as she tried to stop crying. She really hated showing her baby side, but she was scarred by what she had done. She had never hurt anyone before. She didn't think she'd ever have to, and now that she had, she wished she hadn't.

The gate opened with a loud creak and everyone's heads snapped in its direction.

"Clementine!"

Hearing her name being called so loud and commanding made fresh tears appear in Clementine's eyes. She held on tighter to Nick's shirt as he stood, turning to face the leader who had entered into their prison.

Carver stood just inside the gate, his face calm but serious.

As Nick and Rebecca walked across the yard to join the others who had crowded around the powerful man, the three year old little girl felt her work collapsing around her. She didn't want to face Carver, fearing she would be punished, just like the night before.

She had hurt Troy, and Carver was going to hurt Nick since she didn't hit the 'target', but Clementine couldn't find the words to tell her black haired friend this unfortunate news. "N-Nick…" she tried again, but once more, her words died on her tongue.

Nick looked down at her, but when he realised she still wasn't ready to speak, he faced forward again. He pushed to the front of the small crowd by the gate and stared Carver directly in the eye, daring him to try something.

"You need to come with me right now, missy." The boss stated, stepping closer to Nick and coiling his fingers around Clementine's waist. Before Nick could even process what was happening, the girl was removed from his grip. She cried out in pure terror, her mind racing as the tight grip on her felt anything but comforting.

Luckily, just as quickly as she was taken from Nick, she was taken back.

Luke gave her a reassuring smile before standing her down behind him and facing up front again. The anger on his face was much more sinister than any look he had given anyone else; ever.

Sarah quickly took Clementine's hand and Carlos stepped on front of the two girls protectively, blocking them from Carver's sight.

"The hell did you do to her?!" Luke yelled, glaring at the hated figure everyone was forced to bow down to. "You better not have hurt her, you sick fuck!" Kenny growled, being held back by Sarita, who whispered quietly to him to keep him next to her.

Carver's serious face quickly changed to one of amusement. He enjoyed watching his prisoners fear the unknown that a little girl cast into the minds. For all they knew, she could be upset because she was hungry, or tired, but still they panicked, and that made Carver clearly know that he had them wrapped around his little finger.

He gave each pen dweller a glance before lifting his hand and pointing his finger at Mike. "You and Rebecca can come with me. Instead of _telling_ you why she's upset, why don't I _show_ you…"

Rebecca was more than ready to find out what had caused the youngest member of her group to get so worked up, but Mike was a little more nervous. He whispered a quick nervous 'this better not be bad…' to Jane, before following after Carver and Rebecca.

* * *

**Chapter 16:**

* * *

Everyone talked quietly near the gate while Clementine found a small amount of comfort with Sarah at the lawn chairs. The teens quiet whispers of happy things made her feel more calm than earlier, although tears still blurred her vision as she leaned against Sarah's chest with her thumb in her mouth, sucking it gently almost as a pacifier.

She had only ever had one pacifier before, and she didn't really like it that much; only when she was scared. She remembered Lee telling her that she didn't need it anymore and gratefully she threw it away. Clementine knew as long as she had Lee, he'd keep her safe and would take care of her when she was scared.

With Lee no longer around, she needed the pacifier then more than ever, but her thumb almost gave her the same comfort and distraction as her old rubber soother did, so she kept it between her lips.

The gate soon opened again and Rebecca and Mike came back inside. Alvin was the first to his feet, watching his wife hurriedly make her way over to everyone. "Is everything okay?" he asked, but he didn't receive and answer.

Rebecca pushed past the others and walked over to Sarah, putting her arms out silently asking for the toddler. Sarah could sense something wasn't right, and pushed the girl away from her into Rebecca's arms. Clementine whined as Sarah gave her away, but once she realised it was Rebecca taking over, she shushed herself again.

The soon to be mother held Clementine close to her body, rocking her gently on the spot. "It wasn't your fault, baby girl…" she whispered into the cap of the child, receiving nothing in response. The rest of the group watched as Rebecca acted strangely, waiting for Mike to return instead of bothering her and the girl.

"I…I didn't _want_ to…" The three year old whispered through her thumb, snuggling up to Rebecca for comfort. "I know, baby. I know…"

Clementine wanted to feel better, she wanted Rebecca to make her feel better, but nothing was helping. She really felt like she had done something terrible that she could never forgive herself for. Troy's bloody wound was caused by her, and it had frightened her that such a thing so easily happened.

"He…he wasn't an m-monster, Rebecca…" she explained, feeling hot tears sting her eyes. She willed herself not to cry anymore, she just wanted to talk, but every time she tried to force words out of her mouth, a new wave of tears appeared in her eyes. Every time she _wanted_ to speak, the lump in her throat made her sob instead.

Before Rebecca could talk, the gate closed with a loud bang and Mike walked inside looking angry and confused. He spoke quietly, making Kenny raise an eyebrow and ask "Huh?"

"Troy's dead!" Mike exclaimed from a little further away from Rebecca and Clementine.

"How? What happened?" Sarita asked, shocked by the news. She put the pieces together and summed up that Clementine had witnessed Troy's demise. Her heart went out to the poor girl.

"Dunno. Carver mostly talked to Rebecca, but I heard him say something 'bout Clementine 'saving Nick's ass'."

It was then that all eyes went in Nick's direction as he stood with his mouth gaping open, eyes wide. He instantly began to defend himself, "Hey, wait a minute. I didn't do _anything_! Rebecca, tell 'em I did nothing..." he begged with his eyes for the woman to save him from the angry, accusing glares being sent his way.

Clementine knew it wasn't his fault, Rebecca knew it wasn't his fault, Nick knew it wasn't his fault, but it was three people's word against a whole lot more.

The toddler instantly shook her head, "N-no! He didn't…" she stated, receiving a thankful nod from Nick himself. Luke cleared his throat and stepped forward, "I've known Nick my whole life, and I know he'd never do anything to cause trouble to a little girl! Clem even said it herself. It's not his fault."

Luke offered a warm smile to the youngest member, and she returned it with a faltering smile of her own. It was the best she could muster in such a situation.

Pete also stepped up to defend his nephew. "I'm as certain as I am that the sun will rise tomorrow, that Nick's not the one to blame here. Carver is." Everyone backed down at the old man's words.

Of course it all settled back at William Carver's feet. And in that case, just like every case before, they were right to pin the blame on him.

"Bill's manipulating Clem." Rebecca started explaining, lifting the girl higher up on her hip, "He told her that he'd hurt Nick if she didn't do what he told her, so she hurt Troy; like he wanted her to. She 'saved Nick', but not because it was Nick's fault. No. It's because Carver knows what Clementine will do to save someone she loves; and she loves us all. She proved her bravery when she stood up for Luke the other night…"

At the mention of the other night, the toddlers hand landed on her cheek. It still stung to touch, but she had almost completely forgot it was there. She still lingered on thoughts of why the leader was so mean to people, but no clear answer had yet shown itself to her.

"Clementine, baby, what you did wasn't _bad_…" Nick gave Rebecca the most cynical look possible, but she ignored it and focused on the girl who was eyeing her curiously. "I-it wasn't…?" she asked, sounding just as flabbergasted as everyone else was after hearing what had happened upstairs.

Rebecca had a good knowledge on children; she had been planning on having kids with Alvin for a while before the apocalypse and she had done her research and study so, if she ever had a baby, she'd know what to do and how to react in certain situations.

Of course, she had never read anything about 'What to do if my three year old kid stabbed and killed a man?', but she knew how to calm down the girl with a cunning use of words, and maybe a little confusing yet calm phrasing that would trick the confused, traumatised child into believing that what she did really _wasn't_ a bad thing.

"No! Sweetheart, things are confusing sometimes, like what happened today. You see, Troy…he _was_ a monster. I know he didn't look like one, and he didn't sound like all the rest, but he wanted to hurt us; just like the lurk- monsters outside. Do you understand?"

Clementine looked down at the ground, processing what she had been told. The monsters did want to hurt people, they had gotten so many of her friends already. Troy had hurt her on a few occasions, by grabbing her wrist too tight, or pushing her around too hard. They're really seemed to be different kinds of 'monsters', and Clementine had a feeling what Rebecca was saying was true.

Troy was a monster.

She lifted her eyes back to Rebecca's face, "So…I didn't do a bad. I did good?" she asked, new hope and certainty in her question. With slight hesitation, Rebecca nodded her head.

With this finally in her mind, the toddler calmed down and smiled. She reached her arms out to Luke, and was quietly handed over to him. She snuggled up in his arm and looked at the others who seemed as downcast as she was minutes before.

"So, what are we going to do?" Luke asked, trying to catch anyone's attention. He knew they were in a shitty situation, but they had to think of a plan. They had to get out of there. "Doesn't anyone have a plan?" he asked, rubbing the little girls back.

"Why don't we ask you the same question?" Kenny asked, rolling his eyes as the outcome of the whole ordeal was becoming clear.

They were screwed.

"There's no point in fighting. When are y'all gonna get that through your heads?" Pete had sighed and mumbled an irritated question, which everyone heard, and seemingly paid no heed to. No one ever knew when to listen to what he said. That would eventually lead to something bad, and somewhere in the back of everyone's minds, they knew it.

The group scattered, most of them heading to the lawn chairs. Nick walked over to them behind Rebecca, almost following her like a lost dog. He was still a little spooked that the blame might still be on his head for the scenario earlier.

"How are you doing, Clementine?" Luke grunted, lowering himself down onto the bottom bunk that the young girl was being sent to nap in. He tried to lay her down, but she scramble back up and held onto him.

"Can we go?" she asked, looking at him with curious eyes.

Luke was taken back by her question and looked down at her with a confused tenderness, "What do you mean?" It was still bright out, but dark clouds loomed over-head, making it colder and a little harder to see under the bunk. Luke felt a shiver run up his spine as he waited for the girl to elaborate more on her idea.

Clementine smiled up at him as memories of before Carver's came back to her. She pointed to the man-made wall surrounding the pen, "Out there!" she chirped, practically jumping at the thought of travelling and finding a nice home instead of the uncomfortable ground that she was supposed to be sleeping on.

Luke's smile grew at the thought too and he scooped the girl's legs out from under her, securing one hand on her back to lower her down onto the 'bed'. She tried to get up again, but Luke finally picked up the courage to be the boss and held his hand on her chest. "We'll get out soon, Clem. Now stop your messin' and let's take a nap!"

He chuckled quietly and let her relax under his hand before moving it to rub some of her curls off her face when she stopped resisting. Her tiny hands latched around each side of his palm and she giggled as he re-arranged her mad hair.

"Sound like a plan to you?" he whispered, receiving a nod from the beaming girl, "Good, I'll stay here 'till you fall asleep."

Clementine still held his hand when he pulled away to make sure he didn't leave her. She smiled up at him one more time, feeling more tired as he softly smiled back, and then closed her eyes to rest for a while. His warm hand in hers was enough to keep her mind from wandering to the bad things she had witnessed earlier that day.

With the warmness assuring her things weren't all bad, she fell asleep.

Clementine rolled onto her stomach and opened her eyes, hearing a lour conversation going on by the other bunks furthest away from her. She was facing the other way still half asleep when she heard her name being mentioned, "Nah, Clem's still asleep."

"Good. Now will y'all talk a little quieter? If she wakes up, I won't be able to put her back down." Luke responded to Nick's assurance with a hushed fatherly scolding on everyone else. The talking continued, but a little quieter this time.

The girl's eyes wandered to the gate where she saw Johnny looking into the pen, and when their eyes met, he lifted a hand and silently motioned for her to come to him.

Clementine was hesitant at first, because she was just after waking up and part of her didn't want to leave her group, but after a minute, she crawled out of the bed and quickly walked over to the metal gate; that was huge compared to her.

The gate opened with a screech, catching everyone's attention. Kenny and Luke both began to march towards the girl and guard, but Clementine was out with her hand in Johnny's and the gate was shut before they could reach them. "Give 'er back here, right now!" Kenny growled, gripping the bars of the gate and trying to shake it open.

Johnny rolled his eyes and took a step back with Clementine. "First of all, she's not some kinda toy, mister. She's a person, like you and I, so stop demanding her back like some sort of doll."

The bearded man's eyes widened at this statement and he began shaking the gate more. "We're taken care of her, now _give her back!_" he yelled, kicking the gate in frustration.

Mike stepped forward and pulled Kenny back by the shoulder. "Calm down," he grumbled, giving the older man a warning glare. "Johnny, why are you doing this?" Luke asked, taking the other man's place with his hands around the bars.

Johnny sighed and looked down almost as if he was thinking of doing something he knew he'd regret. "Boss wants to see her. If I don't bring her up, I'll be smacked across the head. I wouldn't be surprised if he decided not to feed you too. That man's losing his mind…"

At that sentence, Luke nodded vigorously, thinking this was his chance. "Exactly! Why are you bringing a three year old little girl to a man who's 'losing his mind'?! There ain't any sense behind it." Johnny seemed to consider this for a split second, his eyebrows furrowing in thought before he shook his head. "I'm just gonna do as I told, sorry. Come on, Clementine."

The duo began walking away, but not before the girl looked over her shoulder and waved to her guardian. She trusted Johnny, and although she knew she was heading to Carver, she knew she was safe. For now anyway...

Luke slowly waved back, staring at her in a daze and continuing to wave even after she was gone as he was lost in thought and shock.

* * *

"J-Johnny…?" Clementine asked, pulling on the man's hand as they walked through the hardware store. Johnny looked down at her nonchalantly, "Yeah?"

She wasn't sure what she wanted to ask him. She wanted to know if he heard what happened. She needed to know if he was upset because of what she did. But that's not what came out of her mouth in the end. "Troy…was a monster, wasn't he? B-but not a lurn- Lurer…"

"A lurker?" Johnny asked, finding the girls confusion quite entertaining. He had never enjoyed the company of a child before, but for some reason he knew he had a responsibility to keep this one safe.

She nodded her head, looking up at him, waiting for an answer to the question. She watched as the man averted his eyes away from her, almost as if he was considering saying something he knew he shouldn't reveal.

"Uh…Yeah, I guess you could say that. I'm pretty sure we're all just as bad as the lurkers by now. People change, Clementine. And sometimes, it's not a good change." He looked down at the three year old, who seemed to never blink as her curious eyes stared up at him in wonder.

A tiny smile crept onto his face, so small, it was barely visible, "But sometimes it _is _a good change; like me." Clementine smiled at this news, and a new wave of questions flooded her mind, "You changed? How? Was you a bad guy?"

Johnny couldn't help but chuckle at her curiosity. His face became serious again almost instantly as he realised what he was doing. He was literally dragging this little girl deeper into the hell-hole that was Howes.

"I don't think you was." He looked down at her innocent face tilted up in his direction and stopped walking. "_I _think you're _nice_."

The stairs leading up to Carver's office were just up ahead, the man himself was watching from the window that overlooked the whole main building. His face contorted in anger as he watched the scene unfolding below him.

Johnny grunted as he pulled the girl up under the arms. She gave him a disapproving scowl as he hoisted her into his arms. "I was. I _was_ a bad guy. You've made me soft, kid." He explained, speed walking back the way he came.

"Soft?"

"Yeah. You know, _good_? You made me good!" He let out an exasperated sigh as Clementine just smirked towards the pen; where Johnny was bringing her back to.

At the gate, Johnny asked the guard to open it up and she began to fumble with the lock. The noise caught the attention of the prisoners inside. None of them were expecting Clementine back so soon; or so easily.

The little girl began pushing against the guard's chest to be let down, whining "Can I go down?" Before Johnny could speak another word, a hand pulled on his shoulder and he was spun around to be face to face with the leader himself.

"What do you think you're doing?" His smug voice filled the air, like a stab in the heart from the devil himself. Johnny was about to answer, but was stopped with a hard slap across the side of the head. It didn't hurt; it was more of a warning hit on the ear.

"There was a reason you were a guard! I gave you my trust and you betray me? Is that what this is?! Fine. Have it your way. You're still coming with me, Clementine." Carver took Clementine into his arms before pushing Johnny back against the gate.

"You wanna work with the enemy?" he hissed, looking the younger man dead in the eye.

Johnny had to suck his cheeks to stop himself from saying anything on his mind. If he had learned anything from his time at Howes, it was to never answer Carver back. Ever. Everyone knew this, and everyone knew that Johnny had learned that the hard way.

The leader nodded his head towards the female guard by the gate and she knew he wanted the metal contraption open. Once she pushed it up, Johnny was shoved out into the yard, almost tripping over from the force of the push.

"Work with 'em then. But let me make one thing clear; if you think you're taking that baby from me," he looked to Rebecca for a second, pointing his finger directly at her stomach which she had covered with both hands, "then you have another thing coming. And if y'all think I'm letting this little girl die to the hands of you folk, then you're in for an even bigger shock. I'm teaching her the ropes, whether you like it or not. She's ready. Y'all 'll see."

Alvin had taken a spot in front of Rebecca, defending her with his body while sending a death glare at the gravelly voiced man as he lectured them.

"What are you talking about, Bill?" Pete asked, rubbing a hand over his face tiredly. Each day became more frustrating and the old man was losing hope that they'd ever just have a peaceful day again.

Sarah pushed past her father to look at the little girl she had barely spoken with normally in almost a whole day. She watched as Clementine tried to reach out and grab onto Johnny's jacket, but Carver had already taken a step back and stared at the group as he waited for the gate to close.

"Clementine's going outside."

This caught Luke's attention, but before he could speak, Nick beat him to it. "What?!" he gasped, receiving a smirk from Carver while Clementine looked up at the man holding her confused.

"Outside?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. The man smiled at her and nodded, "Yeah, outside. I'm sending you away from Howes." This was what Clementine had wanted; freedom. An adventure! She beamed at Luke, who winked at her encouragingly, which he thought was the right thing to do. He was still learning.

A bewildered silence filled the air, but was soon broken by Sarita. "You're letting us go?" she asked, wrapping her arm around Kenny's waist as some kind of relief set in her stomach. The hot-headed, bearded man held her close with a hand on her shoulder as she held onto him.

She instantly tensed up again when the leader laughed sarcastically. "When did I say anything about you traitors?! _She's_ going outside."

A wicked smirk flashed across Carver's face.

"Alone."

* * *

**Chapter 17:**

* * *

"Alone?!" Luke choked out, images of the three year old being ripped apart by lurkers, crying in fear, all alone in the middle of the woods appearing in his vision. His legs felt like jelly, but he forced himself to stay calm while the camp leaders eyes stared right at him.

"Tonight." Carver continued to smirk as his prisoners began to show panic clear in their actions. Jane took a few steps back, turning her back on the group as she lifted her hand to her mouth in thought. She caught the mans attention for a second, before he turned back to the returned escapists.

"And would you look at that; it's almost dark out." His sinister smile lingered on his face while Clementine wiggled around in his arms until he decided to put her down. This was all part of the plan...

She stepped away from him before turning to face him with wide eyes, "D-does I have to…?" She whispered quietly, fiddling with her jacket that was still somewhat big on her small figure. The way everyone was acting made her think this wasn't such a good plan.

Carver nodded his head sincerely, "I'm afraid you don't have a choice, Clementine. Now! I'll let y'all say goodbye to the star of the moment and I'll be back with some supplies for her trek in a few minutes. Johnny, you'll be spending the night out here. You can think about what you did and get your priorities straight again." The man turned slowly and started to march away, leaving the group to huddle around closer to the three year old as the gate was shut right behind her.

"Clem!" Sarah gasped, kneeling on front of the toddler and placing her hands on the younger girl's shoulders. Clementine wrapped her fingers around the fabric on the sleeves of Sarah's purple jacket.

The tears in the teen's eyes made the toddler grow confused and also alarmingly more scared. This _wasn't_ a good thing that was happening, and she was starting to see that more and more clearly. "Sarah, w-why you not come outside too…?" she asked, watching as the older girl just opened her mouth in shock and fear. No answer came.

As voices grew louder, and more of the group started aiming questions and reassuring words at her, Clementine found herself being drawn into Luke's protective hold. Her toes just barely touched the ground as she leaned into his chest and against his bent knee. One hand held the back of her head close to his body while the other searched for her hand to squeeze in comfort.

"Listen to me, Clementine. It's not safe out there…" his whisper sent a shiver down her spine. If it wasn't safe, then she didn't want to go. She wanted to stay with him! "But, I believe in you, Clem. If you just stay calm, quiet, and keep close to Howes, then you'll be fine. I'll come and get you myself if that's what it takes."

"L-Luke, no…" she whimpered, leaning back to look at him with her teary eyes, "I-I don't wanna…"

Luke offered her a sad smile before wiping her tears away, "Come on, kiddo, big girls don't cry…" he gently brushed his hands from her cheek, down her arms until both her smaller ones were in his, "You'll be fine! I know you will." A proud smile appeared on his face as he buried his worry deep inside. He was going to make sure the girl survived. He was going to get inside her head and fuel her want to survive out there alone and be reunited with him.

Clementine allowed a small smile of her own to crawl onto her face. "Okay…" she mumbled, allowing her head to turn and look at the other group members.

Carlos was calming Sarah while Sarita stood close by, also cooing over the teen. It seemed none of them could get their heads around what was happening or how they had any chance of getting out of it.

Rebecca and Alvin watched Luke and Clementine's exchange of words with sad, loving eyes; Rebecca kept a protective hand over her baby bump the whole time.

Nick tried to calm Kenny, but the older man's rage ignited the capped young man and they both fired verbal shots at one another. Clementine felt like she should tell them off for swearing, but it suddenly became hard to move, to talk, to think, and she decided against it.

Jane had her gaze focused on a ladder half way up the wall in the pen. Luke figured it led to the roof, but gave no more thought to it as Pete kneeled down next to the duo with a serious scowl on his face. "He's on his way back." He warned, ruffling Clementine's cap before standing back up and approaching his nephew to try and extinguish the fire that was Nick.

Luke planted a kiss on Clementine's forehead, "I'll miss you." He whispered, releasing her hands and giving her one last eye to eye loving stare. "Me too." She stated, a frown pulling at her lips again.

The gate opened and everyone was forced to back away from Clementine as a gun aimed in their direction. The guard holding the gun couldn't have been more of a surprise to the cabin survivors. Bonnie apologised with her eyes, but the gun in her hands distracted anyone from seeing her regret filled, baby blues.

Carver motioned for the girl to come forward, which she did. Once she was next to him, he bent down and placed her small knives into her pockets, looking her dead in the eyes. He had no other supplies for her. He firmly placed his hand on her shoulder, and pulled her closer so her head was next to his, his mouth right next to his ear.

"We're gonna show them you're not just a little girl. Remember out talk…?" Clementine nodded her head quickly. She remembered that conversation clearly. It was the first time she had ever felt like she was special; powerful! Now she understood that it may all have just been an illusion…

"You need to use what I taught you and make it out there until _tomorrow night_. Then come back, do you understand?" he asked, the warmness in his words deceiving her into nodding again at his preposterous plan.

He smirked and stood up, placing his hand on her back, giving her a gentle push to get her walking and then started leading her to the stockroom doors. Bonnie herded the prisoners out of the pen silently and they followed after the leader and small girl.

In the stockroom, the delivery door was wide open, the outside world on full display for everyone as they walked inside. The sun had only just disappeared behind the horizon, the moon had yet to show itself fully. A few stars were clear in the cloudless sky, and all was quiet except perhaps for a few hundred animals out in the woods.

It was those noises that caused Clementine's heart to beat faster. She was getting more and more scared as she got closer to the door. "Why give her a knife?" Alvin whispered to Pete, watching as the little girl held the handle of one dagger as it sat in her ripped pocket. The older man just shook his head and glared at the head man's back.

Carver stopped next to the door and turned to everyone. The three year old did the same. "Clementine here is gonna prove to us that she had what it takes to run this community. She's agreed to leave and return tomorrow, unscathed and perfectly fine."

The group started complaining instantly, claiming she would get hurt, and scaring the girl more than she already was. She watched as Nick and Kenny mirrored each other's actions; clenching their fists, gritting their teeth, breathing heavily. It was like they were ready to explode.

Sarah was whimpering behind her father. Even though Sarah was kept in the dark, he innocence somewhat unchanged, she knew the toddler wouldn't survive out there.

"I've thought her how to survive, so everyone stop your whining!" Carver exclaimed, frowning at the people who had abandoned him before. He believed what he was doing would be worth it in the end. Clementine would learn to cope alone with nothing but a weapon. She would survive.

Carlos shook his head and stepped forward, leaving Sarah with Rebecca. "She's three years old! Why are you doing this to her?" he demanded, not preparing to allow anything to happen to the girl. She had become a part of the group, a part of the family! The doctor had started caring for her like she was his daughter, and he'd rather die than let his daughter get hurt.

There was no answer, Clementine was simply pushed forward out the doors. "Good luck, Clementine." The camp leader's voice rang in her ears and the wind blew in her face as she walked down a delivery ramp and onto the concrete parking lot. It was darker out that she thought; not pitch black, but still unsettling.

She started slowly walking away from the building, getting further away from her family. Her legs were moving without her consent. Half way towards the trees, still on the gravel surrounding the hardware store, Clementine turned around to investigate increased yelling.

She saw Luke break past Bonnie's guard and slide under the closing gate. He only made it three steps before being grabbed by the back of the neck and pulled back. Carver started dragging him back inside, but he managed to speak before he was kept away from the young girl. _His_ young girl. "Don't fight, Clem! _Don't fight, HIDE!"_

The gate was slammed shut and Clementine was left alone in the wild.

She looked down at the knives in her pockets and her eyebrows furrowed together in anger. She didn't want them. She didn't want to fight. She started walking again until she reached the tree line, then she stopped.

Very carefully, she kneeled down near a bush. She could feel the tips of the knives on her thighs and realised how stupid Carver's plan was of poking them out through her pockets. If she had fallen, which she does a lot, there was every chance that she could have stabbed herself accidently.

She pulled the blades out and pushed them under the shrub, making a mental note to retrieve them when she came back so Carver didn't get angry. Clementine stood back up, warily looking around for any danger, before slowly taking the first step into the pines.

Her hands were clasped tightly onto the front of her jacket, her eyes peeled and constantly darting from left to right in search of any danger. Luckily, it seemed there was none around; For now, anyway...

Clementine was lucky that Luke had placed her down for a nap, because if he hadn't she'd never have even been able to take the couple hundred steps away from Howes. She had energy to last her a few hours, but after that, she didn't know what to do. She didn't want to sleep until she was safe back with the group.

Thinking about them made her chest tighten. She knew what that meant. Tears pricked her vision, but she wasn't prepared to let them fall. She pulled her coat forward away from her chest and pushed her mouth and chin down into the jacket. With a quick swipe of her hand, she wiped her eyes and continued walking into the woods.

She paid close attention to her surroundings, making sure she knew her way back to the hardware store. With her memory being so good, her remembrance of most things giving her pride, this wasn't such a hard thing to do.

After ten more minutes of walking through the increasing wind, Clementine stopped walking. She didn't know what to do. She had never been alone like this before. When she lost Christa she was only alone for a few minutes before Luke and Pete found her. Now she had been alone for longer than she'd have liked.

With an upset huff of hopelessness, Clementine started walking again. The howling wind was nearly knocking her over; she was being pushed around like some kind of ragdoll. Johnny had said she wasn't a doll, but if anyone had seen the girl out in the pines like that, they'd have disagreed.

Each step made her feel more alone than ever and sleep lingered in her mind. A large tree came into view nearby and Clementine could think of nothing more to do than take a seat in the crook of it. It shielded her small form from the wind, keeping her safe in that sense. It was also somewhat hidden from anyone or anything that might want to harm her.

Of course, she wasn't sure if it really was that safe, but she had to assure herself this was true so she could settle down to sleep for the night. For twenty minutes she lay against the tree listening to the sounds around her. Every leaf rustling in the wind, every howl of the animals that lurked around her, everything she saw move; it all kept her wide awake.

A few fearful tears ran down her cheeks when she finally closed her eyes to rest, and as the salty tears warmed her face, she managed to fall into a restless slumber.

* * *

Clementine woke up to birds chirping around her. She pulled herself up into a sitting position and rubbed her still sleepy eyes. The wind from the night before had almost completely disappeared, but that wasn't what she noticed first.

Her eyes felt heavy, a frown pulled on her lips. Tears were fresh in her eyes, but they didn't fall. In frustration, she rubbed at them until they were red, but the tears stayed inside like she wanted. She didn't recall why she was feeling the need to cry.

Clementine pulled herself up and stepped away from her resting place at the tree. She looked around, wondering why she was there for only a split second before she finally remembered. Looking at a smaller shrub than the rest, the young girl remembered that going past that bush would lead her back to Howe's.

She couldn't do that yet though. Carver specifically said to come back at night. An exhausted yawn escaped her mouth, and the girl realised how hungry she was. It occurred to her that she had nothing to eat, and this only made her grumpier.

Taking one step forward, Clementine jumped at the low growl coming from behind her. She spun around to see a monster walking towards her slowly. Although it was moving slow enough for her to get away, Clementine couldn't move. More of them appeared behind it, all heading her way.

She was terrified of these creatures. These…'walkers' had taken so many people from her, and she was face to face with one now. It lunged at her, but with a yelp in terror, Clementine dived to the side on her hands and knees. As quickly as she could, she started crawling away towards a falling log a little ways away from her.

Her breaths were coming out in quick, frightened puffs as she squeezed herself inside the log and wiggled into the middle, a sob rising in her throat. She lay on her back, kicking her legs on front of her; at the hole she had crawled through that the walker was shuffling towards.

Before another thought could invade the toddlers mind, she felt two hands grasp under her arms and start pulling her out of the log backwards. She opened her mouth to scream, but she couldn't make a noise. Only a quiet croak escaped from between her lips. She let herself be pulled free from her hiding place, but when the sunlight hit her eyes, she started to struggle.

"Shhh, calm down." A quiet whisper reached her ears, making her freeze and stop trying to fight. Clementine's legs dangled in the air as she looked ahead at about five walkers making their way towards her and the person holding her.

Her feet were firmly on the ground again in a quick motion and she spun around to see a short lady pulling out a knife. A taller boy walked past them, his blade drawn too. The girl gently pushed Clementine back, almost protectively, "Stay back…" she said, her face not visible to the tiny toddler.

The walkers advanced quickly; the man was easily taking out one that got too close. The young woman was quick, stabbing the undead beings in the head while their blood was left to splash on Clementine as she stood back, watching with wide, frightened eyes.

The man was more accurate with his strikes; his knife hitting the left eye every time. When they were done, the young man quickly shoved his knife into a holder at his hip and pulled out a gun from his green jacket; a little like Kenny's, aiming it right at the trembling little girl.

She took a step back, fearing for her life. "N-no…" Clementine breathed the word breathlessly. Her head was spinning as complete panic engulfed her. The other girl turned away from the final walker she had killed and instantly ran in front of the man, blocking his clear shot of the toddler. "What are you doing?!" she gasped, her voice demanding and confused. She looked at her companion with desperation and he slowly lowered his gun.

"Keeping us safe." He said emotionlessly; seriously, looking his fellow survivor in the eyes, "She could be bit! I'm just looking out for you, like older brothers should."

The lady pushed him back slightly and turned to Clementine. Her bright, emerald green eyes locked with the toddlers teary, wide, amber ones. "You're only older by thirty seconds, Warren. And she's a little girl! We can at least ask her if she's bit before we try and kill her…" she said to the boy behind her, a hurt expression clear on her face before it softened into a smile as she bent down to Clementine's height.

The three year old took a step back, her winded, horror stricken mind-set making everything a blur. The woman looked concerned, reaching a hand out to touch her which made Clementine step back more, shaking her head as her silent tears fell.

"Come on, Sky. We can't stay here all day…" the man, Warren, sighed. 'Sky' turned around to glare at him, and it was in this second that Clementine's rapid breathing finally got to her head and her world went black.

"Skyler, catch her!"

* * *

**Chapter 18:**

* * *

Clementine woke up with a dull pain in her head. A whimper escaped her mouth as she lifted her hand and ran it across the right side of her forehead. Her fingers ran across a bumpy line; what felt like thin thread in her skin.

Long fingers wrapped around her small wrist and gently pulled her hand away, "Don't touch it, honey." She had never heard this voice before, so opened her eyes in fear, completely on edge and alert.

She was lying on a sleeping bag, wrapped in a cocoon of blankets inside a small tent. An older man sat on the ground next to her cross-legged. His hair was short and spiked up, but fluffy; surprisingly staying in that position. The brown locks were being eaten up by blonde, but that wasn't what got Clementine so concentrated on his hairline.

Her eyes were scanning the scar that ran from just next to his left eye; closer to his ear than his nose, up across his eyebrow, then disappearing in his hair. He noticed her staring, and chuckled quietly, "You're a curious little one, aren't you?"

Clementine tried to sit up, but the man placed his hand on her chest, keeping her down. "You've hit your head quite hard, kid. You need to rest. It might hurt for a while; I had to stich the wound shut. It should heal in a few weeks if you don't mess with the stitches." The man explained, his deep voice sounding sincere but kind.

The toddlers head definitely hurt, but she could handle the pain. It wasn't like the pain in her cheek… It seemed the man was reading her mind, because he cleared his throat before rubbing a finger over her cheek. "How'd this happen? It looks like something hard hit you, and it looks a few days old. Did you fall?"

Clementine wasn't sure if she should trust this man, but she didn't want to be rude, "I got a _punishment_."

Anger ran across the man's face, but he quickly concealed it and continued questioning the girl. "You were punished? What'd you do that provoked someone into hitting you?"

Clementine explained to the man how she was helping Luke, and he seemed impressed by something. His reaction was completely different to everyone else. In fact, it was almost as if he was proud of her bravery.

Rubbing her hand over the stitches on her forehead again, Clementine realised something. She didn't know what 'stitches' were, but she didn't assume they were anything bad. In fact, by the way the man talked about them, they sounded like a good thing.

"You passed out before Skyler could see if you were okay. What's your name, pumpkin?" he asked, smiling at her warmly.

"Clem…Clementine." She introduced herself warily, not sure if she should tell him or not. One of the last times she introduced herself to somebody, she was taken away by the person she thought she could trust; Carver, and locked outside in the pen.

"It's nice to meet you, Clementine; although under circumstances I'd rather have missed. My name's Bishop. Do you remember Skyler and Warren? They're the two people who found you alone out here. They're twins, so don't mind Warren if he gave you a hard time. He's just looking out for his sister…"

Bishop was a good guy In Clementine's book, but she wasn't sure about the other two survivors. If what she had been told so far was true, then she would get along with the two others just fine. As if on cue, the girl from before crawled into the small tent, a smile forming on her face when she saw the three year old with her eyes open.

"She's awake!" she gasped, looking at Bishop thankfully. He nodded his head, "Her name's Clementine. I was just about to ask her where she came from."

Skyler had medium length, light brown hair tied back in a ponytail. A dark wine coloured beanie covered her head, hanging loosely but seemingly not budging. She was a skinny, young girl, but it was clear she was able to take care of herself. She had a defined, beautiful face and bright green eyes. Clementine was sure she could see a hint of her golden wolf yellow in the other girl's eyes too.

"Where did you come from? From where we found you, it seems you came from that huge hardware store a couple miles from here." Skyler spoke softly, directing her question directly at the younger girl.

Clementine nodded her head, trying to sit up again. This time, Bishop didn't stop her. Once she was up, she leaned over, letting her head fall forward for a second tiredly before lifting it up again. "T-that _is_ where I come'd from." She admitted, watching as Skyler's eyes glistened with interest.

The tent opened again and Warren crawled inside, "Could you talk a little quieter? I can here you's talking from outside…" He trailed off as three people inside looked at him unamused. "I'm trying to stop us from being raided or surrounded by the undead. Are you seriously gonna give me that look?" he asked, looking at Skyler directly while giving his best puppy eyes.

Warren's orbs mirrored his sisters in colour and size. He had the same colour hair as Skyler too, but his was styled in a unique way that Clementine had never seen before. The sides were short, like Bishops, but the top middle was full and standing quite high considering there was nothing holding it up. A perfect quiff in the middle of the apocalypse was rare to come across.

Skyler reached out and punched the taller boys broad shoulder, almost knocking him over, "Clementine here comes from that huge hardware store we saw from our lookout." Warren's face looked puzzled at this news, "Why is she out here then?"

Clementine yawned before pushing the blankets off her. Bishop chuckled again, "You're supposed to be resting." He repeated, watching the girl freeze in place. "But, I guess if you're feeling up to it, you can go with Skyler and Warren. I'm sure they'll take you home. Is that what you want?" The girl nodded her head, making the pain worsen a little before dying down again.

Skyler put her hands out to help Clementine out of the tent, Bishop and Warren following behind them. "How old are you, Clementine? And why _are _you out here alone?" the older girl asked, crawling backwards out of the tent with her hands around the child's waist.

Clementine rubbed an eye tiredly before replying, "I'm three," lifting three fingers into the air and wiggling them around as she mentally counted them to make sure she was right. Of course she was, since she had done that exact same thing every time someone asked her age, "I's have to stay out here 'till night time. Then Carver says I can go back to the group."

Once outside, Clementine noticed that it was quite cold, and she regretted getting out of the blankets she had been provided. "This Carver guy doesn't sound at all good. Who sends a toddler out into the woods by herself?!" Warren turned his back on the others, clenching his teeth as he thought about what the world had come to now that everything had gone to shit.

He may have been stubborn when it came to keeping him and his sister safe, but he had a heart, and sending a little girl away from a safe haven for what he only assumed was a stupid reason made his blood boil.

"Who's this 'Carver' you speak of, anyway?" Skyler asked, standing up and stretching his legs with a grunt. Clementine looked up at her with a friendly smile, "He's the boss man! The…the _leader!_"

She was starting to like these people. They were nice, and helpful, and they seemed to like her too.

"He doesn't sound like a good leader to me…" Warren murmured to himself under his breath, crossing his arms over his chest as he stood near Bishop and looked down at the new arrival.

Clementine could see in Bishops eyes that he was worried about sending her back to the camp. He knew what Carvr had done to her; he knew he was a dangerous man, and his group were about to approach him at a huge risk of being hurt or captured.

Skyler opened a satchel that sat near a burnt out fire beside the tent and pulled out a piece of bread. She put it out towards the little girl, "Here you go, Clementine. You've been out for most of the day; I can only assume you're hungry."

Clementine latched both her hands around the small piece of bread as she beamed at her feeder, nodding her head. "Thank you!" she chirped, sinking her teeth into the starchy food. It tasted like heaven to the girl with the empty stomach.

She looked around at the small camp she was in as she ate. There was the small tent that she had just come out of and two more identical ones across from it. In the middle of them was the small stick fire. It smoked slightly but wasn't lit up like Clementine would've preferred, being so cold and all.

There were bags thrown down next to the bed of sticks, but they weren't the only supply holders. Clementine had seen more inside the tent she woke up in and she was certain there was more in the other tents too.

"I need to fill my canteen…" Warren's bleak discovery reached the toddlers ears, gaining her full attention, "We'd better get going now so we can get to the creek before it gets dark. You girls ready?" He had his gun pushed down the back of his pants, his shirt stuck up over it, and his knife in hand. As he pushed it into its holster, Bishop fixed the back of his shirt, earning a confused mumble from the teen.

"Nineteen years old and you still need someone to help you dress appropriately." Bishop smirked at the boy, who just stepped away shaking his head with a smirk of his own. "You can't talk, old man." He shot back, running a hand over his hair; checking it still looked good.

Clementine couldn't help but smile at their antics. She liked it. It seemed…normal.

"Ready." Skyler said, throwing a bag over her shoulder and putting her hand out for Clementine to take. The girl didn't hesitate and linked her fingers with the teens while she held the small piece of bread in her other hand.

Her heart was filled with new hope since she was going home in one piece, and she wasn't going alone again. Warren and Bishop talked about telling Luke, the only named person Clementine had talked about besides Carver, the stitches needed to be removed after a week or two.

"Be careful!" Bishop called as the trio left the camp. Skyler waved back at him, as did Clementine, and Warren took the lead. "Stick close." He said, striding ahead, leaving Skyler to tend to the toddler.

"So, Clementine, you seem very tough for your age. Weren't you afraid to go out here?" The question caught the three year old off guard. She had just finished eating the bread, and felt quite tired as she noted the sun setting on front of them. "I is afraid…" she admitted, sticking extra close to the teen in fear of more walkers coming to attack.

Skyler looked down the her, sympathy in her eyes. "Trust me, Clem; there isn't anything to be scared of out here. The zombies are slow and stupid, we are fast and smart. The woods are just trees, and the trees," Skyler patted a tree as they walked by, "They're just wood."

Clementine smiled at this information. It was true. The trees couldn't hurt her, and if she used her head and tactics when the walkers were around, then she'd be able to escape and hide; like Christa had taught her.

Silence filled the air, but it was accepted and comfortable. Warren slowed down and looked over his shoulder to see the two girls were still behind him, "We're almost there."

The small creek came into view down a small slope between the trees. The trio carefully made their way down, Skyler lifting Clementine down in case she fell. Warren sighed as he pulled his canteen out and bent down at the edge of the stream.

"The freshest water around. Quickly, Clementine, come here." The girl was a little freaked by his sudden want of her company, but Skyler assured her he wouldn't hurt her. She carefully approached his side, and was even more surprised when he coiled his arm around her and pulled her on front of him.

"Look closely…" he whispered, pointing his finger at the water. Clementine leaned forward a little, trusting Warren to keep her out of the water; which he did by keeping a firm grip around her stomach. She didn't see much, only stones and water.

Warren suddenly squeezed his hand on her stomach, telling her to keep her eyes peeled. That was when she saw it; the small fish that swam out from under a branch in the water. It had huge eyes, which instantly caught Clementine's attention, and a tiny tail. "Wow…" she whispered, looking closer to see if there were anymore.

"It's a speckled dace." Warren told her, sharing his knowledge with the girl, "A tiny fish that lives in streams and creeks. They're edible, but probably not very filling. It's always better to just put these little guys back in the water when you're done with 'em. Here, let me catch it for you…"

Before Clementine could protest, Warren swiped his hand through the water, retracting his closed fist back out just as quickly. He pulled Clementine back away from the edge and let her go. She stepped back a little, but Warren quickly filled the space between them again.

"You're such a nerd, Warren…" Skyler laughed from where she was filling her canteen nearby. The boy rolled his eyes in her direction before turning his smirk back to the toddler. "Open your hands." He said, lifting his fist and holding it close to Clementine's chest.

She cautiously put her hands up, cupping them together and waiting for what came next. Warren slowly opened his hand and let the small fish slide into Clementine's small palms. It gave a little wiggle, making the three year old jump, but before it could fall from her hands, Warren used his hands to push hers shut.

"They get a little wriggly sometimes." He said, slowly releasing his hold, opening Clementine's hands again in the process. She looked down at the creature she was holding, gawking at how close she was to it.

It was the first live fish she had ever seen.

It was the first creature, besides humans, that she didn't have to eat; and that didn't want to eat her.

The dace had spots along its body, and Clementine instantly understood why Warren called it a 'speckled' dace. It was slimy and wet, but it was fascinating. "It's squidgy…" she giggled, pushing her hands out towards Warren so he could take it back.

He chuckled along with her, but instead of taking the fish, he pointing to the water, "You can put it back." Clementine nodded her head before bending down near the water with the fish. Warren linked his arm around her so she wouldn't fall, and she said goodbye to the little animal. "Bye-bye!" she chirped, rolling the fish out of her hands.

As soon as it touched the water, it began moving its tail and swimming around in the water. It quickly found its branch home and disappeared out of sight.

"Are you two ready to get going now? It's getting late." Skyler said, smiling at the duo none the less. She learned all she knew about fish from her brother, and it had honestly save their lives on more than one occasion. It was nice to see that he would share what he knew with the little girl they stumbled across.

They made their way back up the small slope and towards Howe's Hardware store.

* * *

A yawn escaped Clementine's mouth and her arm ached from holding Skyler's hand for so long. Warren kept hand on his knife the whole time he led the two girls towards the safe haven. The sun had gone down only minutes before, and it was getting colder by the second.

"Are you tired?" Skyler asked, giving the toddlers hand a light squeeze and a smile. Clementine nodded her head before pulling her hand free from the teens and then raising both arms up. "I'm _cold_." She whined, waiting for Skyler to lift her up.

She did just that, and picked up the toddler, holding her on her hip. "I think there's a blanket in my bag. Warren?" The boy turned around to see what his sister wanted, "Can you get the blanket out of my bag, please?" Her sweet tone made him roll his eyes again, but he did as she asked and opened the bag as she turned her back to him.

"Here." He said, handing the blanket to her carefully over her shoulder before zipping the bag shut and walking ahead again. He was whistling a cheery tune as he led the way. It was the only song he could remember from start to finish, and although it wasn't particularly his favourite song, it passed the time.

Skyler wrapped the blanket around Clementine and then offered her an accomplished smile. "There. Is that better?" she asked, receiving a nod from the girl who looked around contently. "Thank you."

Some of the things around them seemed familiar and Clementine knew they were close to Howe's at last. She just wanted to see Luke and company and finally sleep peacefully; even if it were on the uncomfortable 'beds' in the yard.

"The trees end just up ahead." Warren revealed, breaking into a jog to the edge of the treeline. Skyler did the same, jogging up next to him. He wasn't mistaken; there was the building that Clementine surprisingly missed.

She looked at it with a relieved smile, and leaned her head against Skyler's shoulder, finally relaxing after the tough couple of days she had.

"Let's go."

* * *

**Chapter 19:**

* * *

Clementine noticed that Warren had taken a closer spot next to his sister as she was squeezed tighter into Skyler's embrace.

The sound of feet scraping across the concrete parking lot was making Clementine grow excited. She couldn't wait to see her group. She was hoping they missed her as much as she missed them.

The little girls head still hurt, quite a lot actually, but she easily ignored the throbbing pain as her eyes scanned the door that they were heading towards. A small smile was creeping onto her face.

"Whatever happens, Sky, stay close to me and…don't tell him our names." Warren spoke quietly as shouting could be heard coming from inside. Clementine felt anxiety building. What was going on in there? And why didn't they want to tell their names...?

Skyler lifted a hand out from under the toddler's legs and knocked on the dark yellow fire exit door that they had approached. The shouts had stopped and the door clicked unlocked. It opened with a screech and there stood the man that had sent her out in the first place.

His serious expression quickly changed to a smile and he stepped outside, arms crossed over his chest. "Welcome back, Clementine." He spoke coldly, much more evil than the last time she had seen him. Clementine remained quiet, keeping her head against Skyler's shoulder.

"Who are you?" his next question was aimed at the two young adults.

"We found your girl out in the woods being attacked by the undead. You outta keep a closer eye on her." Skyler's sass shone straight through, bringing a smirk to Carver's face. He scanned her and Warren's faces closely for a second, his smirk becoming more sinister each second. "Have we met before?" he asked, taking a step closer to them.

Warren pushed him back, his hand hovering over his knife, "No. We haven't."

The leader of Howe's let a gravelly chuckle escape his mouth. He nodded his head at this news, but even Clementine could tell he wasn't letting it go. "Well, thanks for bringing little Clem here back. I'll take her and you two can be on your way back to your camp, or whatever it is you came from…" Bills request was denied as Skyler just held onto the little girl tighter, shaking her head.

"We don't have a camp. We travel light, like now, and only stop to rest. Why don't you let us in? We've been seeking refuge for a while now, and could use a warm break indoors for once." Warren spoke with clear confidence that his lies were working. Clementine wasn't so sure, but it _did_ seem like Carver was taking them up on the idea.

After a moment of thought, he stepped back into the building, "Follow me."

The trio walked inside, a guard closing the door behind them. Clementine lifted her head as a familiar friendly face looked her way. Johnny didn't smile at her, and she understood why. His nose was bleeding, he had a cut on his lip, and he was being retained by two guards that the toddler had waved to on a few occasions.

"I'll need to take your weapons." Carver told the two new comers, and neither of them complained. Clementine was stood down, holding the blanked around her small body, while Warren pulled his gun out of his pants and handed it over along with his knife.

Carver noted that the gun was almost hidden from him, and smirked since he was certain these innocent 'kids' were really handing over all weapons.

Skyler followed his actions, giving up her matching blade and gun. "I'll also need the bags." the older man pointed out, sticking out his hand and waiting for the supplies. Silently, Warren and Skyler complied and handed over everything they had. Carver was impressed by their obedience.

Clementine turned to look at Johnny again, but before she could try and speak, a hand being placed on her back stopped her. "Johnny's heading back to the pen now, so you three can join him." Carver turned his attention to the two guards, "Keep an eye on 'em." He then bent down to Clementine's height, taking his hand off her back, and offered her a wide grin.

"I'll talk with you about your journey in the morning. It really is great to have you back, now go on…" He jerked his head towards the door, and the guards pushing Johnny back into the main building, indicating her, Warren and Skyler should follow.

They did just that, leaving the small hall at the back of the store that the door they came in was located; Leaving Carver to watch them depart from his place near the floor.

* * *

Clementine stood between Warren and Skyler as they followed behind Johnny and the two guards, but as soon as they reached the gate leading to the pen, the toddler hid behind the taller girl's leg.

She didn't know why she was so frightened all of a sudden. The thought of what they did to Johnny just made her think that maybe he wasn't the only one who was punished. Maybe the others were hurt too...

The gate opened with a screech and Warren moved closer to Skyler, blocking any view of Clementine to anyone who may have been awake inside. The little girl however, saw someone turn around in a chair near the fire, but they faced the flame again after losing interest in what they were seeing.

Johnny was pushed inside, where he muttered something inaudible under his breath while rubbing his nose painfully. Skyler placed a hand on the little girls head and Clementine stepped inside the pen next, pushing past both Skyler and Warren's legs at last.

It was late, and the young girl watched as nearly everyone slept peacefully in the darkness of their bunks. The gate was shut behind them by the two guards who led them to the yard, and silence took over.

Clementine took a small sleepy step forward as the familiar pain in her head returned. She felt Skyler place her hand on her cap as she and her brother looked around cautiously. Clementine needed to ask them why they told Carver a lie, but something else caught her attention and she forgot about the query momentarily.

She saw something move in the darkness and remembered the person on the lawn chairs. On closer inspection, she saw a mundane man sitting by the fire, leaned forward in his chair, resting his head in his hands exhaustedly.

"Luke!" she gasped, watching as the man shot up straight and spun around, looking at her with wide eyes.

"Clementine!?" he screeched, jumping out of the chair and running towards her and the two newcomers by the gate. The girl took two shaky steps forward, dropping the blanket off herself before collapsing into the man's arms as he swept her up into his warm, safe embrace.

He held her head close to his heart, which was beating incredibly fast, and breathed heavily since he couldn't believe what was going on. Clementine felt tears run down her cheek as all the fear she had been keeping to herself dissolved to nothing but relief.

"Whoa, be careful, sir. She's been injured and you're pretty close to pressing against the wound." Warren warned, putting his hands in his coat pockets unsurely. Luke's eyes widened at this news as he hugged the returned survivor more gently before pushing her away and looking down at her.

He instantly spotted the injury; the thread through her skin and the dried blood around it. He looked away from Clementine's face, which he had missed dearly, and up at the young boy and girl. "Who are you? What happened to her?!" he asked, waiting to hear that something worse had happened besides the injury to his girls precious head.

Skyler smiled at Luke comfortingly. "I'm Skyler, and this here's Warren." She introduced herself and her brother. "Hey…" Warren said awkwardly, having nothing to fidget with since his gun was confiscated when Carver took them in.

Luke nodded his head, and waited for the next question to be answered. Skyler and Warren kept their cool calm demeanour, and that informed Luke that the situation wasn't as bad as he thought.

"She was attacked by the undead." That one sentence had Luke's blood boiling with rage. He knew it was Carver's fault. That mad man knew children would get hurt out in the wild.

"She passed out when we came to save her and hit her head on a rock. We brought her back to our friend, Bishop. He's medically trained, and she needed stitches. He says it might hurt for a while and leave a scar, but she should be fine." Skyler trailed off after saying what she remembered Bishop had told her about the young girl's injury.

"Oh!" Warren spoke up, clicking his fingers in remembrance, "You're Luke right?" Luke nodded his head, confused by where this was going, "Bishop said to tell you that the stitches need to be taken out in a week or two."

Luke smiled at the boy, "Yeah, I'm sure our doctor could've told us that."

"You have a doctor too?" Skyler asked, wondering why Clementine never brought that up; or any of the other people that were asleep in the beds.

"Yeah…" Luke whispered looking down at the girl in his arms as she just cuddled closer to him. It was only now that he noticed the blood staining the girl's clothes. He was curious as to what she had been through, but didn't ask straight out. He wasn't sure if it was the best thing to do.

"Why don't we go back to the fire? It's getting cold out… Come on over here." Luke suggested, picking up the toddler and leading the two newbies to the chairs. Luke returned to his seat while Skyler and Warren sat next to him, keeping close together.

Luke laid Clementine with her body across his knees and her head on one of his arms. She moaned in disapproval as he ran his hand across her wound, but he simply just gave her a reassuring smile and rubbed her arm with the hand keeping her head up. "It's alright, Clem. I just want to see it." he told her.

She kept her hands on his arm, but didn't complain anymore. "You don't mind a little scar, do you, Clem?" he asked, smirking down at her as she shook her head. "No. Scars are cool! Bishops hads a scar…" Her eyes started up at him sleepily, but happily as she told her tale. Although she didn't smile, he could see she was feeling good by the look in her amber orbs.

"It's true. Scars are pretty damn awesome..." Warren mumbled, earning a stifled laugh from his sister and an amused glance from Luke. "Why did you two come in here?" Luke suddenly asked, a look of sadness and disappointment on his face, You made a big mistake…"

Warren leaned forwards in his seat, looking at Clementine while Skyler fixed the blanket on her lap that she had picked up after the girl dropped it. "It's all part of the plan." She stated simply, smiling at the confused looks that Clementine and Luke mirrored.

"Huh?" The three year old quizzed, pushing at Luke's arm until he let her sit up and lean back against his shoulder. What plan? She'd been told nothing about a plan...

"We haven't exactly been truthful with you, Clementine…" Skyler admitted, although she didn't look very sorry. This made the toddlers curiosity grew. Usually, lying would've annoyed the girl to certain extents, but for some reason, Clementine was growing more attached to these people because of this lie and reveal.

Warren cleared his throat, "We've been waiting for an opportunity to take on this place and claim it as our own. We're part of a bigger community, down south in Texas. We've been watching this place for a while now, and finally, we've gained access." he pulled a small radio from his pants, where he had it hidden, and held it on front of him. "All I have to do is say 'Access granted' and backup will swarm in to help us out. Stick with us, and you won't be killed; that is if you're on our side."

"Damn right we're on your side." The small group huddled by the fire turned to see Johnny had been listening in and was all about this plan. "We're getting out of here, even if it kills us. I'm not spending another minute in this hell-hole." His nose was still oozing blood slowly; the skin around it was a dark purple colour and looked sensitive to touch. There was no doubt it was broken.

"I agree." Luke jumped at the chance to get out of Howes. He couldn't let this opportunity pass by, not when the group had a chance of freedom. "Me too!" Clementine exclaimed, nodding her head with a bright smile on her face.

Smile's from everyone around was sent her way, and she turned to look at the sleeping survivors. "Look, Luke. I'ms awake longer than _all_ the others!" she whispered, proud that for once she wasn't the first to fall asleep.

Luke gave her arm a light punch, "That won't be happening again, little missy. They all hit the hay early because we did a lot of work today. I'm sure if you call them, they'll all wake up to see ya." This news made Clementine's eyes widen, and a huge smile spread across her face.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" she chanted, wiggling off the man's lap and landing on the ground with a quiet thud. She rubbed her head quickly, gaining an anxious look from Skyler, but continued to make her way a few steps closer to the bunks.

She thought for a minute about how she would wake them all, turning to look at Luke once more. He motioned his head in their direction, mouthing 'Go on.' Clementine didn't need to be told again. "Wakey wakey lazy heads!" she called, watching as multiple body's jerked upwards from being so rudely awoken.

Nick rolled from a bunk on the ground so he was laying on his back in between his sleep space and Pete's. "What's going on?!" he mumbled quickly, rubbing his eyes as he lay on the ground. Clementine couldn't contain her laughter as she jumped onto his stomach, getting a confused 'Oof!' from the man.

She leaned forward and placed her head on his chest, her arms around his stomach, "I'm back, Nick!" she exclaimed, feeling his hand land on her back. "C-Clementine?!" he gasped, looking down at her on his chest in the dark, confused and conflicted. He thought he was dreaming.

Clementine felt two hands grasp under her arms and lift her off the tall young man. She was spun around to see Pete looking up at her as he held her out in front of him, over his head. "That's my girl!" he chuckled, his eyes leaving hers to scan the stitches on her forehead. He stood her down and pushed her cap up a little to see the injury better.

Clementine noticed his concern and smiled it off, "It's okay, Pete. I hads help! They're over there." She pointed her finger in Skyler and Warren's direction, Pete's gaze following it. "I see..."

"Clementine!" Rebecca called, the relief in her voice clear to the toddler. The three year old left Pete and approached the woman and her husband. She lifted her hands to put them in Rebecca's while Alvin ruffled her cap. "I'm so glad you're okay!" The woman breathed the words, as Alvin nodded in agreement, "We were worried about you."

Clementine smiled up at them, her eyes shining in the moonlight. "I caught a _fish!_ Warren says it was a _speckled dace_. I holded it!" she explained, giggling at the memory of the fish she had in the palm of her hands.

Rebecca gave her a loving smile, "That's amazing, Clementine! That's the first fish you caught! I'm sure Pete will be overjoyed to hear you've taken a liken to his favourite hobby."

"I remember when I was a boy, we caught dace in the creek down by my papa's house..." Alvin recalled his childhood with a keen smirk on his face. The little girl yawned loudly, about to tell the two grownups more about her journey over the last day, but a new voice reached her ears, gaining her attention.

"What happened to your head, darlin'?" Kenny asked, standing opposite sides of Rebecca and Alvin with Sarita by his side. The toddler spun around to look at him, lifting her hand to the stitches in her forehead.

"You're a brave little girl, Clementine." Sarita remarked, but the curly haired girl was more concerned about the anger in Kenny's eyes. She took a step closer to him, watching him bend down to her height. She grasped her hands around his ears and pulled on the slightly, making monkey noises as she did so.

A wide smile plastered her face as the man's anger disappeared and was replaced with amusement. "What're you doing?" he chuckled, trying to pull her fingers off his ears.

She giggled a reply, "Makin' you laugh!" Kenny's laugh grew more jolly, making Sarita, Alvin and Rebecca laugh along too. "You little monkey! Don't make me tickle you..."

At these words, Clementine let go of the mans ears with a squeal and ran in Sarah's direction. She noticed that Carlos was talking with Luke, Warren and Skyler by the fire. Pete was close by chatting with Mike and Johnny, most likely about her, and Jane was nowhere to be seen.

"Sarah!" the girl laughed, wrapping her arms around the teens legs and looking Kenny's way as he just stood up and began talking to the soon to be mother near him.

"Clem! You're back! I missed you..." Sarah seemed to grow shy as she mentioned how Clementine's loss had affected her. This only made the little girl shine more, "I missed you too, Sarah. But I'ms back now!" she exclaimed, making the point clear that she wasn't planning on leaving again. Not without the group, anyway.

"I wonder what they're talking about..." Sarah whispered, looking over at the others by the fire, "Wanna come over?" Clementine raised her hand to takes Sarah and both girls made their way over to the chairs.

As soon as they got close enough for Luke to reach them, he took Clementine and placed her back on his knee, smiling at her as he did so. She was about to complain and wiggle free, but was caught up in the conversation.

"-tomorrow night." Skyler looked at the people around her with a smirk on her face, one that Warren mirrored perfectly. "So what do you say?" the nineteen year old boy asked, waiting for a response to the plan. Everyone seemed to have new hope in them as each person stood a bit taller, their eyes gleaming with this lost emotion.

Carlos wrapped his arm around Sarah's shoulder before addressing the others who had all gathered around to hear what the two newcomers had to say. "We'll talk more about this in the morning. We all need a chance to process this news..." He said. A few murmurs of agreement arose from the group as they gave Clementine a few last welcome back waves or quiet words before one by one, they retired back to bed.

Luke stood up with the three year old in his arms, walking towards the bed she knew was for her. "No, Luke..." she whined, pushing at his arms in an attempt to be put down, "I'm not tir-"

"Wait!" Luke turned around to see Skyler standing up and walking towards him quickly. She pushed the blanket that she had taken back into his chest, a slight caring gleam in her eyes. "She can have it. We've got plenty more back at camp."

"Why thank you, Skyler. We really appreciate it." Luke smirked at the girls in his arms, "say goodnight, Clementine." The toddler sighed, pouting slightly as her eyes locked onto the teens. "Goodnight..."

Skyler laughed at the child's obvious hatred of being forced to sleep as she turned her back on the man and girl, waving her hand over her shoulder, "Night, Clementine."

As Luke wrapped the blanket around her small body, Clementine let another yawn leave her mouth. "See? You need your sleep." Luke pointed out, winking at her while he made sure the blanket was around her properly so she wouldn't get cold.

She smiled up at him, earning a smile back. "I really missed you, Clementine." Luke whispered, leaning in close to place a kiss on her forehead, "Now get some rest."

Clementine let her eyes close slowly, the outline of Luke's body still lingering in her vision, "Nighty night, Luke..." She was home.

* * *

**Chapter 20:**

* * *

Clementine swung her legs back and forth as her eyes roamed the yard from her seat on Luke's lap. She could feel Carlos's hands inspecting the stitches on her head, as well as her hands; which she had only realised recently had been pretty cut up on each palm and finger.

A splinter being pulled from her skin made her a little upset, but it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be after Carlos pointed it out to her. That log she hid in probably wasn't the safest place she could've gone when that walked attacked…

"There are no more splinters." Carlos said, smiling at the relieved sigh the girl released. "Good." Luke chuckled, keeping a close eye on what the doctor was doing to the three year old; she wasn't really paying any attention anymore. Clementine was too busy watching Jane move bags of soil across the yard.

"Am I allowed to help Jane?" She asked, lolling her head back until she could see Luke's chin. He looked down at her with a confronted half-smile, "We'll see when you're done here."

"Are we done here?" she turned her attention to Carlos, who shook his head at her question. This made a frown pull on the girls face. "These scrapes need to be cleaned. Then you can go." He explained, looking to her face for a second before going back to his work.

He had been allowed to bring a doctor bag into the yard to treat the girl while she ate breakfast instead of taking her out and missing the meal. Carver was going easy on her again. Not that it was a bad thing; in fact, it was probably the only good thing that man was doing at all.

Carlos had also taken time to straighten Johnny's nose for him. Although he swore like a sailor during the procedure of popping the bone back into place, he was thankful for the help. He sat alone where Mike and Jane usually sat, staring at his hands, a thoughtful glow to his face.

Clementine had already told Luke all about her time with Warren, Skyler and Bishop. She told him about the camp, the food, the fish. She had also explained to him that it was cold outside and she found a tree to sleep against so the wind wasn't blowing on her as bad. Luke praised her for being smart and not trying to stay awake when she was tired.

Kenny came over to take a seat next to the men and girl, a sneaky smile on his face.

"This is going to sting a little." Carlos warned, pouring peroxide onto a rag and preparing to wipe the girls hands down. Clementine's head snapped down to her palms as Carlos pushed the rag against her skin and she yelped in pain, pulling her hand away from him and cowering back against Luke.

"Ow…" she cried, rubbing her pained skin against her chest. "It's okay, Clem. You've gotta do this. It won't hurt much longer, I promise."

Clementine let Carlos pull her hand closer to him again. She noticed he gripped her wrist tightly this time so she couldn't pull away. He pressed the rag to her flesh again and she whimpered as the sting returned, but quickly subsided; just like Luke promised.

"So…" Kenny spoke up, "Can you guess what's coming up soon?" Clementine didn't really pay much attention to his question because she was preparing for her other hand to be treated. When the pain subsided in her hand, the girl finally looked at Kenny. Luke had already asked what, but Kenny ignored him and kept his eyes on the toddler.

"What?" she asked, repeating what Luke had enquired only seconds before. The bearded man's smile grew, "It's something special; something big…" Clementine's curiosity grew. She didn't know what was happening soon. She had absolutely no idea! Something big…like an elephant? She heard they were big…

"It's your birthday, Clem!" Kenny finally revealed, laughing at the look on the girls face. Her eyes were wide, her mouth opening in excitement as she pulled herself higher onto Luke's legs. "Really?!" she gasped, looking up at Luke's confused expression. The young man seemed a little sceptical.

"How do you know?" he asked, watching Kenny give him a snarky smirk, "One of the guards gave me the date yesterday, and I remember Lee telling me something about a birth certificate framed in Clementine's room…"

The bearded man didn't have to continue; this was enough information for Luke to believe his girl was almost four years old. "Well I'll be damned. I thought I was gonna get to never celebrate her birthday with her. I'm starting to feel better that we bumped into you Kenny."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm _amazing_. Enough of the mushy stuff, farm boy. You don't want vanilla ice getting jealous…"

"Hey, shut up, man. You know I can hear you?" Nick said from nearby, scowling at the people on the lawn chairs. He turned back to Pete, his annoyance clear in the way he stood.

Clementine looked down at Carlos, as he looked up to meet her gaze. "You're almost four?" he asked, smiling at her as she nodded exaggeratedly. "That's this many, isn't it?!" she asked, holding four fingers out to him with the hand he had already treated. The doctor nodded his head, "Yes. You're a very clever girl, Clementine."

The girl averted her eyes shyly. She was proud of herself for giving the man this impression. "Thank you." She said quietly, a small smile tugging at her lips.

A lot of noise was streaming out into the yard from inside the main building. It seemed something big was going on, and Clementine was curious of what it was. Not only was her birthday coming up, but the community was doing something big too! This made her extra excited, and extra curious.

She was so curious, she had blocked out what Kenny and Luke were saying, only catching the last few words. "-two days."

"Huh?" she asked, looking up at Kenny, waiting for him to repeat what he said. "You're birthday's in two days." He revealed, giving her cheek a quick swipe with his thumb. The girls smile grew more, and she looked up to Luke. "What age are you?" she asked, waiting to hear how old her caretaker was.

She was sure she had asked him this question before, but she couldn't really remember. This was strange, because she usually remembered important things, and this seemed important to her.

Luke chuckled at her direct words, ticking her stomach slightly as he made sure she didn't leave his lap. "I'm twenty six; I'll be twenty seven soon."

"How soon?" she asked, narrowing her eyes up at him. "Very soon." he winked down at her, watching as her investigating glare disappeared and was replaced with a small smile. Clementine was preparing to make his birthday one to remember.

"All done." Carlos sighed, releasing the girl's hands and giving Luke a small nod, confirming things were good to go. "All righty then…" Luke said, standing the girl down, but stopping her from walking away, "Listen, Clem. Carver will be here any minute, probably to get you. I want you to be careful, okay?"

He couldn't have been more right, because the gate was pulled up as soon as the words left his mouth. Clementine looked over to see Carver and Tavia standing at the gate, preparing to bark orders at their 'prisoners'. Luke turned the three year olds head back to look at his face, a pleading gleam in his brown eyes. "Okay?"

"Okay." Clementine assured him, although she had a weird feeling in her stomach. She was nervous, scared, and dreading having to leave the group again. Carver hadn't spoken yet, so she was hoping maybe he didn't want her to go with him.

His words from yesterday replayed in her head.

_"I'll talk with you about your journey in the morning. It really is great to have you back, now go on…"_

He was definitely going to bring her with him.

"Everybody up and at 'em, Tavia's got your schedule for today. Clementine, you're coming with me." The leader spoke loudly, louder than Clementine remembered anyway, and her legs automatically walked her towards him. Her hand was taken and she was led away from the pen, stealing a glance back at Pete, the only group member she could see as she left.

He obviously noticed her uncomfortable state, aiming a small smile at her that was quickly followed by a wink, which managed to calm the girl's nerves significantly. All around the store, people were moving supplies and furniture in huge quantities.

"What's they doing?" she asked, looking up at Carver while he continued to stare straight ahead. "That's what I want to talk to you about. I won't be keeping you long today because I need to get back to work; I'm helping move some stuff at the back of the building. When we're done talking, I'll be sending you back to the pen with Rebecca and the two of you can stay out there, safe and sound. How does that sound?"

Clementine couldn't find the right words to explain the relief she was feeling. Before she could ask about the rest of the group, Carver beat her to it, "I can't let either of you get hurt, so I won't be pushing you two to work like everyone else. We already took a huge risk sending you out last night, but I was right. You are strong, and you survived. Your group know that now, too." He smirked down at her, making it clear he had proved his point to the group, but knew he had taken a risk.

Clementine realised he definitely knew what he was doing, and he knew there were consequences to his actions. He was smarter than she had been told.

"I need you to heal up, get back into shape, and I can't afford to risk that baby Rebecca has in her belly. You and he are the next generation of leaders for Howe's, do you understand?" he finally looked down at her, knowing the answer before Clementine even answered. The confused frown on her face was easy to read.

"Don't the leader have to be…grown-up?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Carver sighed, "One day you'll understand. I'm gonna raise you to be strong, to be the leader, so when you're grown up and I'm too old to continue leading these people, you and the baby can take over. You won't stay a three year old forever, Clementine."

"I know. I'm be four in two days!" Carver stopped walking and looked down at the child with wide eyes. "What?" he asked, thinking he misheard the girl.

"My birthday! I'm be four _soon_." She smiled up at him when his face softened and a smile made his lips curl up.

"Is that so?" he asked, scooping her up into his arms and walking up the stairs to his office. "Yep!" she chirped, excitement flowing through her blood again. She really was a big girl, nearly…

Once inside the office, Clementine was stood down while Carver closed the door. This was the first time she had been in the room since what had happened to Troy… She gulped as this thought resurfaced and her eyes landed on the faded blood stain on the carpet right by the door. She had done that.

As her heart rate picked up, she held her breath and tensed her shoulders while she assured herself what she did wasn't bad. _Rebecca said he was a monster. She didn't do anything wrong. _Clementine quickly calmed down, and just in time too, because Carver picked her up under the arms and sat her on the chair across from his desk as soon as she relaxed her shoulders.

He didn't take a seat in his chair; instead he paced back and forth next to the child. "I've gotta be quick, Clementine. No messing around today, okay? We've got a lot to do before tonight, and I don't need you making things any harder." Carver's sharp words cut through Clementine's calm thoughts and made her grow weary of what was happening.

She may have been young, but she wasn't stupid. Something big was obviously happening that night, and she was certain that was why she was called up to the office.

"There's a herd coming through tonight; lots of monsters, bigger than we've ever seen before. Everyone's helping get this place sealed up, including your group, but it's a dangerous job. We've already made sure nothing can get into the pen, which is why you and Rebecca will be staying out there; it's safe. Bonnie will be watching the gate, so if you need food, water, or to go to the toilet, just call her and she'll help out. You got all that?" The man stopped pacing and looked down at the girls shocked face.

She was imagining piles among piles of walkers stumbling towards her group, preparing to kill them. Thinking about it, she didn't really know how the monsters killed people, but she knew they definitely looked scary, sounded scary and moved in ways she was sure meant they wanted to hurt people; all this was enough to make her despise them just like everyone else.

"I got it." she said, realising she had been staring at the man for longer than intended. "Good. Now, my question…" Clementine's heart skipped a beat at these words. It sounded like Carver was expecting something from her, but she had nothing to give. Hadn't she done enough for him?

"I never got those knifes back. Where are they?" Her breath hitched.

She had left them outside, under the bush. "I-I…"

"You haven't lost them, have you?" the man asked, a disappointed scowl forming on his face. Clementine shook her head as quick as she could, fearing if she didn't clear his suspicion fast enough, she'd get in trouble. "They're out! I hided them…"

Carver's anger disappeared and was replaced with an entertained, wide eyed stare. "You hid them? Well how about we go and get 'em? Before this herd hits…" Again Clementine stayed quiet, just nodding her head. She had to go outside again, and she didn't really want to.

Carver helped her off the chair and opened the office door, allowing her to walk out first. She held his hand as they slowly walked down the stairs; he didn't try to rush her like he usually did. "Now, remember what I said earlier. We've got to be quick. No dawdling, we just need to get the knives and then I'll accompany you back to the pen."

They walked by a few working people, one of them being Mike. "Hi!" Clementine chirped waving at the man as they walked past each other. He simply nodded his head in acknowledgment before continuing on. She wasn't sure why he didn't answer her back, but she didn't linger on it long. He was probably just busy.

Carver kept a tight grip of her hand, leading her to that back door she, Warren and Skyler had been let in through the night before. "You sure you remember where you put them?" the man asked as he gripped the door handle preparing to let the wind in. "Yes." The girl gave a confident nod, waiting for the morning breeze to blow in her eyes.

The door was pushed opened and the duo walked outside. Like Clementine expected, she had to keep her head lowered so she could keep her eyes open without the wind causing them to water and sting.

A few walkers could be seen in the distance, making Clementine grow more scared. She made sure to keep a tight hold of Carver's hand. As much as she was starting to distrust him, she knew he would keep her safe out there.

The man pushed a small bucket against the door so it wouldn't shut and lock them out before leading the girl across the asphalt parking lot. It was quiet between the two of them, only the wind and walkers breaking up the silence by howling and growling.

"They're here!" Clementine said, pointing to the bush she had placed the knives under. Carver released her hand, making her turn to look at him in fear. She thought he was leaving her. Instead, she saw him stabbing a walker that was a little too close for comfort. "Grab them, I'll keep the lurkers away." He shouted over his shoulder.

Clementine kneeled down and began rooting through the bottom of the bush until he hands came into contact with the cold metal of the blades. She carefully pulled them out, praising herself mentally for remembering where she put them. "Got 'em!" she chirped, standing back up with the knives held out on front of her.

Carver turned to her, nodding his head appreciably while taking them from her. "Let's go." he said harshly, taking her hand again and beginning to walk back towards the slightly opened door they had come out. Once back inside, Carver released a deep breath. "Good girl." he smiled at the child, which she returned with a bigger smile of her own.

"Now. Back to the pen!" he exclaimed, walking ahead of her as she ran to catch up. With a small whine and a pull of the mans pants, he let her take his rough hand. She just wanted to stay with him until the got to the pen. She didn't want to get separated in the large groups of people or objects moving around.

Carver stayed true to his word and delivered the toddler back to the pen. Bonnie was outside waiting like he had explained earlier, and she seemed ready to do whatever she was told. "Okay, remember to stay quiet out here. And Bonnie will get you what you need, if you need it. Goodbye, Clementine." He left just as quickly as he got there, heading towards his office.

"Mornin', city mouse. Rebecca's already outside, so you won't be alone." Bonnie started conversing with the girl who just stood patiently waiting for the lock to be opened and the gate to be lifted. "Stay safe, okay sweetie?"

"Okay, Bonnie." Clementine agreed. Staying safe sounded like an okay deal. The gate was finally opened and Clementine walked out into the pen, her eyes instantly locking with Rebecca's. "Clementine! There you are! They told me you'd be back straight away, but it's been so much longer. I was worried sick!"

The pregnant woman was up and walking towards the girl as she spoke. Clementine allowed her to be lifted and carried back to one of the chairs, being sat on the ladies knees. "I think this baby's coming soon, Clem. Are you excited?"

The child placed her hand on Rebecca's stomach, her eyes finding the brown ones which belonged to the soon to be mother. A frown pulled at her face. Rebecca noticed this straight away and began to worry. "What's wrong, baby? Did something happen?"

Clementine looked at the baby bump before letting her amber orbs lock with Rebecca's eyes again, "Rebecca..." The woman kept her eyes trained on the toddler, scared for what was about to be said,

"...Is _this_ baby gonna be _alive_?"

* * *

**Chapter 21:**

* * *

Rebecca was speechless. Her stomach knotted and she looked down at Clementine with wide eyes. She could see pain in the child's eyes, but that didn't stop her from feeling quite angry at what the kid had said.

"What are you talking about, Clementine?" she asked, her mind racing, her heart beating hard in her chest. She had never considered that her baby wouldn't make it.

The three year olds nose crumpled up at the memory from only a few months ago. "Chrisa's baby _died_…" Clementine had come to this realisation a few days prior after other people started dying around her.

It stung her to think of her lost mother figure, and it pained her to talk about the baby that had she and Christa had silently agreed to never talk about ever. Babies could be born in the world anymore. That was the only conclusion the child could come to.

"This isn't Christa's baby, Clem…" Rebecca sighed, realising what was happening. She didn't want to flip on the girl who was just talking from experience, so she did her best to keep her head straight, even if anger was still bubbling inside her.

"I-I know, I just…I don't wanna see- I'm- It…" the girls gaze fell as images of that one night flashed through her mind. It usually wasn't hard for her to say what she wanted, but no words could explain how this topic made her feel. Of course she was excited, but she was scared. Clementine was always scared.

Rebecca rubbed her arm lovingly, coaxing her to continue. "It's okay, Clementine. You can tell me, I won't get angry, or mad, or sad."

The curly haired girl stared at the belly of the woman before whispering as quietly as she could, "It didn't work before." Her shoulders slouched as she thought back to Christa and her baby.

All that time ago she had been told to not look, but she wanted to see what had happened. The small baby - who was supposed to be her new friend; not taking Duck's place, but just giving her another person to add to that list - was pale and limp. That was all Clementine saw before Omid had hauled her off to distract her.

"I'm scared…"

"I know, Clem. Me too. I think we're all scared." Rebecca decided to open up to the child. There was no point in keeping her in the dark like Carlos was doing to Sarah. It wasn't safe.

"I didn't think grown-ups gets scared." Clementine admitted, feeling surprised, but in a good way. It was nice to know she wasn't the only one who felt this way. She was a little confused though, because she never saw anyone wanting to hold hands to stay close, or wanting to cuddle to feel better.

Wasn't that what you were supposed to do when you were scared?

"Of course we do! It's normal to feel scared when something scary is happening. Like the lurkers; they scare me, they scare Luke, they even scare Nick! Do they scare you?" Rebecca raised an eyebrow at the girl, her question being followed with silence. She already knew the answer; she just needed the girl to admit it.

Clementine nodded her head, tilting it to the side curiously. "Can…I ask something?" she enquired cautiously, watching Rebecca's face soften as it was her turn to nod. "The walkers-"

"Walkers? Is that what you call them?" Rebecca cut in, a small smile on her face.

"I think…that's what my old group called them." Clementine explained, mirroring the woman's smile as she realised she was picking things up from her old friends. Her memory of them wasn't failing her yet, and hopefully no time soon.

"What about them?"

"How…do they hurt us? I know theys bad, but…_how_?" Rebecca seemed taken back by the question, but quickly brushed off the surprise and offered Clementine another smile, "The walkers are sick, Clem. And they can make us sick too, if they bite us. So we have to stay away from them, or…put them down."

The toddler's content smile turned to a frown and she released a shaky breath. "Do you mean…_kill_ them?" Her suspicion was only confirmed when Rebecca nodded sadly. "I-I don't want to do that…" she admitted, her insides churning at the thought of hurting anyone else.

She had already hurt Troy; no, she had _killed him_, and he wasn't even a walker. But no one seemed to care. Was it really good to kill people? To her, by the way people reacted to it, it seemed it was, but that didn't mean she wanted to do it.

She'd much rather just be friends with everyone, but she already knew that was impossible. The woman at the rest stop she, Omid and Christa stopped at proved that to her a few weeks prior.

"Hopefully you won't have to, not as long as you've got us. We'll keep you safe, I promise." Rebecca pulled the girl closer against her stomach and chest and rubbed her back as she gave a small hug to the little girl.

"So…" The woman started, "I hear someone's birthday is coming up." Clementine pushed back away from the woman, her eyes gleaming in excitement. "I'll be four! In two days!"

"That's great, Clem! I wish I had a present for you, but I don't think I do…" Clementine simply shrugged her shoulders. She didn't really care about getting anything, she was just happy that her birthday was almost here.

"It's okay." She replied casually, noticing Rebecca's surprised expression, "I just wanna never leave our group again. It's scary out on my own…"

Rebecca promised that she could make that happen, but Clementine was a little sceptical. She was almost certain this was an impossible goal. The small girl was beginning to understand that nothing was as easy as she used to think it was.

The two females sat in silence for a while, just enjoying the peaceful time together. Soon, they're peace was ruined by the gate being opened and loud talking. "Let go of me!" Skyler demanded, her wrist being released as she was pushed out into the yard, stumbling forward before turning around to glare at the guard.

"Shut up!" the man roared, not angrily, more exhausted and confused. He quickly left, but the gate was kept open, catching Clementine's attention. She slid off Rebecca's lap, the woman standing up to approach Skyler who was rubbing her wrist painfully. The man must've had a tight grip on her if he hurt her that bad.

The three year old knew something bad was about to happen as soon as she saw Nick and Luke both with their necks being grasped tightly by Carver. Rebecca placed her hand over the little girl's chest, trying to stop her from intervening, but Clementine quickly ducked down and got away from her.

Nick was let go, but Luke wasn't. Carver turned him around and grabbed him by the scruff of his collar, pulling their faces close. "I warned you! I warned _all_ of you!"

Nick pushed the leader away from his friend, anger on his face. Before he could speak, Carver's fist connected with his face, knocking him back in a daze. Then the hooded man tackled the taller young man to the ground, preparing to deliver another blow to his face.

Luke froze, unsure what to do to help his friend. In this time, Clementine ran to their side, being the same size as the attacking man since they were both on the ground. As Carver lifted his fist up high, she grabbed his arm, catching his attention. "Stop!" she cried, locking eyes with the furious man.

"Get back, Clementine…" he said through clenched teeth, his arm tensing more in her small hands. "No! Y-you said no m-messing today! Remember?" She saw the anger slowly die down in the leaders eyes, but she was still scared; terrified even. Her hands were shaking in fear.

Surprisingly, Carver lowered his fist, not sparing a glance at anyone besides the toddler. "Yes…I suppose I did…" Clementine released his arm as he stood up, _her_ arm quickly being grasped by Nick. She looked down to him to see him watching the insane man intently, almost as if he was preparing for another attack on him; or on her.

"Keep it down out here." Carver said emotionlessly, leaving the pen while Bonnie closed the gate with wide, concerned eyes. She didn't dare see if they were okay while Carver was still close by.

Nick sat up, releasing Clementine's arm and smiling at her gratefully. "Thanks, Clementine. Think you just saved my life…again." he said, rubbing his face sorely while breathing heavily.

A hand landed on the girls head and she looked up to see Luke smiling down at her. "Good job, kiddo, but next time, stay back, okay?" The worry in the man's eyes was clear to see and Clementine knew she couldn't say no. "Okay." She sighed, pushing his hand off her noggin.

"What happened?" Rebecca asked, noticing the dirt that covered each returned worker. Clementine also noticed the filth they were covered in, making her cringe slightly since she had just touched them. "That's _gross_!" she scoffed, stepping away from Nick's side and moving back to stand next to Rebecca's leg.

Luke helped Nick up while Skyler turned to the two other girls. "We were sent out to clear a small herd that was closing in on the expansion since that area isn't being blocked up. I've been looking around and that's where I'm thinking we order my group to strike."

"Yeah, sure, but what happened that you all got sent back here?" Rebecca questioned further, ignoring the plan Skyler seemed to be making. Clementine kept note of this information though.

From what she had gathered so far, Skyler and Warren were bringing their friends along and the group were getting out of the pen at long last. Usually, she'd have been excited about something like this, but she couldn't help but feel like impending doom was lurking just around the corner.

"You alright?" Clementine looked up to see Nick staring down at her, concern riddling his features. She nodded her head, pulling herself closer to Rebecca by wrapping her arm around the woman's leg. "You look like you've seen a ghost…"

"Hey, what's up?" Luke bent down, taking her arms and pulling her away from Rebecca. Clementine only realised then that she had missed the story of what had happened to Nick, Luke and Skyler, and had been staring into space while her stomach knotted in anxiety.

She couldn't pin point why she felt this way, but she didn't like it. Things wouldn't go wrong…would they?

"Clem, can you hear me?" Luke placed his hands on her shoulders, giving her a slight shake. She looked at him, scrunching her nose up while trying to push away from him. "You're smelly…" she groaned, turning her head away in hope Rebecca would take her back away from the man.

Luke chuckled slightly, but didn't let her go. "I know, I just need to know that you're okay."

"I'm okay." She assured him, covering her nose with her hands. There was a slight grassy odour on her palms from in the woods and by the stream, but it was nothing compared to that…_rotting_ smell on Luke, Skyler and Nick.

"Okay, good. Clementine, promise me you'll tell me if something wrong. _Please._"

Clementine removed her hands from her face, her eyes dropping to the ground between her feet and Luke's. "When we leave…Is something bad gonna happen?"

Luke's eyes widened as she opened up to him. "No, Clem. We're all going to be fine!"

He watched as his girl placed her hands on her stomach, "But, I feels bad in my heart and belly…" she explained. It was true, she had the strangest feelings when she thought about leaving the safety of the pen. As much as she hated the place, it was safe...

"I feel that too, kiddo. It's just because we're nervous. I'm sure everything will be fine, though."

Clementine raised a quizzing eyebrow, "B-but if you're sure, then why are you nervous?"

The look on Luke's face made her smile. "You are too smart for your own good sometimes, you know that?" he joked, about to ruffle her cap, but being stopped when her small hands pushed his hand away. "Ew…" she moaned, giggling at the hurt expression Luke faked.

The man sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly as he locked eyes with the girl. "I'm not gonna promise nothing will go wrong, because I don't know that, but I'm gonna try my best to keep us all together; safe and sound."

"Me too." Clementine didn't want to be left out, she wanted to help too. Luke acknowledged this, "Yeah, Clem. _We'll_ keep everyone safe. That's what teams do, right?" The girl smirked while nodded her head. They were the best team ever!

But this smell was getting too much for the small girl. She pushed away from Luke, watching him eye her cautiously, but bumped into Skyler while doing so. She turned around to be greeted with the smell again. This time, it took its toll on her. She gagged, turning back to face Luke fearfully.

"She's gonna be sick." Rebecca quickly said, fuelling Luke's need to reach out to her. "Oh crap…" he hissed, just as soon as the child emptied her stomach onto the ground on front of her. She whimpered and wiped her mouth with her sleeve before running to Rebecca's legs.

The gate opened and Bonnie came inside. "Is everything okay in here?" She glanced at the vomit on the ground, then to the little girl being comforted by Rebecca's side. "Clementine? Are you sick?" Clementine shook her head, her eyes glassy with tears from what just happened.

She didn't think she'd be sick; she had only even been once before and that was because she ate some bad meat. It hurt the first time, and it hurt the second time; forcing your stomach contents up and out of you was painful, heaving work that she wished she'd never have to do again. "I-I…"

"I think it's the smell of the lurker guts. It is pretty hard on the nose…" Luke explained, remembering how she was acting when he tried to reach out to her. She really didn't like that smell.

The girl nodded her head. She was glad she got the message across.

Bonnie nodded her head, tapping her foot in thought. "Well, how's about I bring you lot 'round back to the tap we've got and hose you down. That is, if you don't mind getting a little wet with cold water..."

Skyler hopped at the change to get cleaned up, quickly followed by Luke who'd risk getting a little cold if it meant Clementine would let him go near her. Nick was a little harder to convince.

"There is no way in hell I'm letting you spray me down with a hose." He stood his ground, that sullen sulk he had mastered over the years being shot at Bonnie for suggesting such a thing.

"If you don't get cleaned up, you're not sitting with us for lunch, dinner, or anything else either!" Rebecca smirked at the look Nick gave her. It was almost as if he was silently begging her to back him up. "I don't wanna get sick again…" Clementine whined, giving the man her best puppy dog eyes.

Nick's whole act fell apart when he looked down at the child, his arms falling to his sides uselessly. He sighed while looking back to Rebecca. "Fine. I don't wanna eat alone later…" The woman laughed at his excuse, along with everyone else, except Clementine. She just wanted them gone.

"Well alright then. Stay here for one more minute, I'm gonna get a bottle of water so Clementine can wash that nasty taste out of her mouth." Bonnie gave a small wink to the three year old. "Thank you…" Clementine said quietly, her face hidden in Rebecca's leg while the woman placed her hand on the child's head comfortingly.

When Bonnie left, Skyler was back to her smiling self again. "At least we won't be stuck with this goo all over me for much longer." She said, looking at Luke and Nick to see if they felt the same.

"Yeah, I miss all the hugs I was getting off a certain someone…" Clementine peeked her head out from her hiding place to see Luke smirking at her. She couldn't stop the small smile from forming on her face and quickly went back into hiding.

"I kinda like it…" Nick said proudly, laughing at the disgust on everyone's faces. "I'm joking! Geez, tough crowd…"

The gate slid back up, Bonnie walking back inside with a water bottle in hand. It didn't look the same as all the other bottles they had been given. This one was a lot smaller, and didn't have a lid like the rest. This one had a pointy top, instead of a round one.

"Here you go, city mouse." Bonnie said, bending down to pass over the drink. As soon as the bottle was in the toddler's hands, she pushed it back towards the red haired woman. "Open, please?"

Bonnie beamed at the girl. This was the first time she had gone to Bonnie for anything, even if it was something small. "Sure thing."

Once the lid was off, Clementine began gulping down the contents, only stopping when Rebecca pulled the bottle away from her. "Slow down, Clem. You don't wanna choke again." She chuckled, letting the child empty the bottle more, only slower this time.

"All right, y'all can follow me. This will only take a few minutes."

"Bye!" Clementine chirped, waving at the three filth covered people that were being led from the pen. All three of them waved back; although Nick was a little more subtle that the other two, only flicking his wrist once before facing away from her again.

Clementine finished the bottle soon after they left and handed it up to Rebecca. "Done!" she exclaimed, smiling triumphantly. It was the first full bottle of water she had ever drunk, albeit smaller than any bottle she had been handed before.

"Good. Feeling better now?" Rebecca asked, smiling at the girl who picked at the hem of her jacket. A loose thread had caught her interest. "Mm-hm." She sat down on the ground by Rebecca's seat and stared at her hands.

She hummed to herself while she examined her clothing. It was still in good condition, and she could swear she could smell Christa when she pulled her jacket up around her nose and mouth. It was refreshing to smell a familiar scent instead off all the new ones she had come across in the last few weeks.

The gate pulled up and the three soaked group members walked back inside. Nick's face made Clementine laugh, she lifted her finger and pointed at him, "Look like you spilled a drink on you!" she giggled, watching him roll his eyes at her amusement.

Luke pulled his shirt over his head, twisting it up and wringing it out. Water dripped to the ground while his face crumpled up and a shiver rang down his spine. "Damn, she wasn't joking when she said it would be cold." he joked, whipping the shirt out in one hand while running the other through his wet hair.

Skyler seemed okay, she had her hair tied back up; neater than before since none of her hair stuck out like when she first met Clementine. He beanie was placed back over her head, only looking damp, not soaked like her clothes. Although this wetness didn't seem to faze her.

She took a seat next to Rebecca, releasing a quiet breath. "I guess we just relax now?" she looked at Rebecca, her bright green eyes glimmering as a sense of adventure crossed her features. The pregnant woman nodded, leaning back in her chair and looking back down at Clementine who was now messing with her shoes.

The almost-four-year-old pulled at her shoe hard until it popped off. She looked down at it, then turned to Rebecca, lifting it up to show it off. "Look!" she said, noting the woman's smile before dropping the shoe. She then went back to her other foot and began pulling at it too.

With a grunt, her other shoe came off and she placed it next to her other one. Then she linked her fingers around her toes, bending the tiny stubs back and forth to stretch them out. Her feet were feeling achy from being stuck in her shoes all the time.

"What are you doing?"

Clementine lifted her head to see Luke kneeling down next to her, a grin on his face. "Fixing my feet." she said simply, watching his smile drop. "Why? Do they hurt?" he asked, his cheerfulness disappearing.

Clementine nodded her head, lifting one hand away from her feet and squeezing her index finger and thumb tightly together between both their faces. "Only this much." she said, sticking her tongue out a little while she squinted her eyes to try and see if she could see between her clamped fingers.

Luke reached out and pulled her towards him until she was sitting right on front of him. He sat cross-legged on front her, rubbing his hands together while she watched him curiously. He then took her feet in his hands, rubbing circles on the soles of them with his thumbs.

"Let's see if I can help with that." he winked at her while she leaned back on her hands, giggling at the posh accent he tried to speak in, but failed miserably since his southern sound still came through strong.

After a few minutes of gibberish from the child about how she was growing up, and some shared plans Luke was thinking about to get her some new clothes for when she started getting taller, the man released her feet and reached over for her shoes.

"I don't want them..." Clementine whined, pulling her once white socked feet away from the man and shielding them with her hands. Luke untied the laces, since the child didn't do that when she pulled the shoes off, and placed one down while he stared the girl in the eyes, keeping the other small shoe in his hands.

"You have to wear 'em, Clem. If you don't you'll get cut on stones and rocks, and you might catch a cold if it get's any colder." Luke gave his reasonable points to the girl, watching as she rethought her decision to wear the little feet protectors. He wasn't giving her a choice. If she decided against it, he was still making her wear them, whether she wanted to or not.

"Fine..." she pouted as she pushed her feet back out towards him, waiting for her feet to be squeezed inside again. Luke smiled at her capitulation and pushed the shoe onto her foot. As he tied the laces, he caught her pouting face and lifted his hand to ruffle her cap.

"Come on, Clem. It ain't that bad. _Smile_!"

She looked up to see him pulling a comical face and couldn't stop herself from smiling. "That's better." he chuckled, preparing to put her other shoe on. Once he was finished, he gave the girl an accomplished smile and helped her stand by lifting her hands over her head.

"I'll have to teach you to tie your own laces, yeah?" he smirked at the excitement the girl showed at this idea. "Yeah!" she chirped, nodding her head firmly while she scratched at her nose were a small bug had landed and flown off within milliseconds of it's arrival.

It seemed there were little flies everywhere in the yard, and they were starting to annoy the girl by landing on her face all the time. "Yeah." Luke repeated, standing up and brushing himself off.

Clementine walked off towards the chairs opposite Rebecca, Skyler and Luke. This was were Nick was seated, leaning on his hand. "Nick?" she asked, smirking up at the man while she pushed her cap up away from her eyes. "Yeah, Clem?" the man asked, looking down at her waiting for an answer.

He knew whatever she wanted wasn't going to please him.

"Can we play a game?" she asked, standing on her toes and pulling herself higher with her hands on his knees. "Pleeeeeease?"

Nick just looked down at her, watching as she tried to butter him up so he'd play with her. He wasn't about to let her win. "Doesn't Luke and Skyler wanna play?" he asked, looking away from her fiery eyes to see the other three grown up's talking quietly to each other.

Clementine's smile only grew, "We can _all_ play!" she concluded, locking her eyes on his again. "What are we playing?" he sighed, giving into her cuteness and agreeing to play. She made her hands into a sloppy gun and pointed at him, making shooting noises and catching Skyler's attention.

The young woman jumped up, copying the smaller girls hand actions and shooting at her playfully while she giggled and ran around the extinguished fire to hide behind Luke's chair. The brunette jumped up out of his seat and began fake shooting at Skyler while Clementine jumped back out of hiding and pointed her 'gun' at Nick.

"Nick!" she called, waiting for him to play. He sighed again before grunting as he pulled himself to his feet, making a gun with his hands. The sooner the others returned, the sooner he'd be able to avoid the girls interest and the sooner they'd begin the revolution.

He wasn't sure he could last much longer.

"Bang!"

* * *

**Chapter 22:**

* * *

Clementine stood on her toes, her fingers clinging to the metal walls that surrounded the pen. She could just about see out into the parking lot. Her curiosity got the better of her when she heard a noise outside, and nobody was paying attention to her so she snuck to the side-lines.

Her eyes roamed the outside world, nothing catching her interest. It just looked empty and cold. Clementine was cold anyway, but the fire was radiating heat all around the garden; being kept in the general are of the yard by the make-shift walls that the little girl was investigating through. It was a different cold than the cold she felt that night she spent against the tree alone.

Her quiet exploration was cut short when a low growl reached her ears and a walker slammed against the wall next to her peek hole. She screamed in terror, pushing away from the structure and falling on her backside, scrambling away as her eyes darted along the barrier in search of the beast.

"Are you okay, Clementine?" The three year old looked over her shoulder to see Sarita approaching her with a concerned smile. She climbed to her feet and approached the woman too, pointing to the wall where she just was. "There's a monster out there!" she explained, the fright still clear in her shaky words.

Sarita put out her hand, letting the young girl latch onto it without hesitation. "We're safe in here. You don't have to be scared, sweetie." the woman soothed the girls nerves while she led her past the lawn chairs, towards the picnic table on the other side of the yard.

The rest of the group had returned to the pen a little while earlier. They all complained of being overworked and Clementine overheard what they had been forced to do. It was exactly what Carver had warned her about; a huge herd of lurkers were heading towards the settlement and they had to barricade all entrances.

Only one person didn't return. Johnny had been let out of the pen after lying through his teeth with an apology Jane had helped him construct. Of course Carver thought he was gaining a tough, able body back on his team, but instead he was just letting the enemy into his territory.

The broken-nosed man had returned to the pen to wish everyone luck and let them know he'd be getting food and supplies from under the other guards noses so they wouldn't have to worry about any of that stuff if the plan went south. He assured them that if things turned bad, they just had to set the backup plan into action with no worries.

The group had obviously come up with a backup plan - Run. They all agreed that if their admittedly strong plan they had put together was to fall apart (for some un-seen reason), they would all drop everything and make a dash for the door leading to the expansion. That was literally the only way out. It was also the only way in, the group knew this since they had been the one's sent to block up all other entrances and exits.

The little girl's roaming eyes wandered to the gate where she saw Bonnie looking in at her, checking to see that she was okay after hearing her scream moments before when the walker snuck up on her. The woman had been filled in about the plan that was to go forward that night.

Skyler's earlier plan to get her people in through the expansion was accepted by everyone; everyone but Rebecca. She was concerned about the safety of Clementine and her unborn child. "How are you're people going to know it's us who are good?" she asked, her question making a few other heads tilt in doubt.

Even Clementine found this problem to really stick out. How could they be saved if their savours didn't even know who they were or what they looked like? They might save the wrong people...

Warren had the answer to this question hidden in his sock. He pulled out a small, plastic bag that contained a bunch of necklaces. Clementine instantly put out her hand asking if she could have one. Warren smiled and pulled one out, offering to put it on for her. She accepted his offer and let him place it around her neck.

"These necklaces are special." The young boy explained, a smirk on his face. "How so?" Nick asked, his eyes piercing the metal chain in search of anything 'special'. It just look like a normal necklace with a small hoop-like-ring on the end.

Warren didn't even have to speak. He simply squeezed the ring, a quiet click emitting from the medallion shaped piece as it shone bright aluminous green; a shade of green Clementine had never seen before. "Wow..." she whispered in awe, twirling the glowing ring in her hands as it hung from her neck.

There was one for everyone.

Rebecca finally agreed with the plan, seeing that there was actually a possibility they could get, out and now - they just had to wait.

"What are we doing?" Clementine asked, allowing herself to be lifted and stood down on the bench connected to the picnic table. Sarita smiled at her, "It's getting late and you and Sarah will need to go to sleep soon, so I was thinking the three of us could sit over here and talk for a while. I think the grown-ups need to speak in private too, but I'd rather stay with you girls. You're more _fun_."

The Indian woman winked at Clementine, while the child just grinned and nodded. "Can we tell story?" she enquired, hoping they could since the last time she was told a story was a few days ago and she missed them.

"Of course we can!" Sarita exclaimed, sitting next to the toddler. Clementine still stood, bent over with her hands on the table so she could lean down on them. Her head up, her eyes looking towards the small fire where she watched Sarah hug her father before starting to walk towards the benches.

Clementine smiled at her friend, her eyes once again drifting over the teens shoulder to the people by the fire. She wanted to join them so badly... Luke, who had his back to her, turned his torsi around so he could look at her. He smiled and waved in her direction, and she waved back.

Luke turned back the right way sooner than the child would've liked, leaving Clementine to stare at his back once more.

She saw Kenny give her a small smile before his face screwed up and he said something quite angrily to Pete. It seemed that was when Nick had enough - he said something exasperatedly to Kenny, patted Pete on the shoulder, and stood up. He walked between Luke and Rebecca's chairs, bumping knuckles with Luke as subtly as he could before making a beeline for the bunks.

"I wonder what that was about..." Sarah said, sitting across from Sarita and turning to see what was going on with the group. Sarita just sighed and lowered her head, "Kenny can get a little scary sometimes. Don't worry, girls. He's a good man, I promise. He'd just a little...bad-tempered."

Clementine ignored this since she managed to catch Nick's eye, smiling as best she could. She lifted her hand and motioned for him to come to her. He slowed his stride while being so close to the shelves, sighed, and then began walking towards the picnic table slowly. The girl's smile grew.

She loved annoying Nick. It was so easy.

"What's so funny?" Sarita's question brought Clementine back to the table she was sat at. She looked at the woman next to her while kneeling down and pointing to the empty seat on front of her. Just as Sarah turned her head sideways to look at the empty space in confusion, Nick sat down, crossing his arms and mumbling a greeting.

"Oh, Nick. What are you doing over here?" The Indian woman asked, surprised, but still kind in her wording. "She wanted me." Was his simple response, his eyes locking with Clementine's while she just smirked and looked back at him. "So...what is it you wanted?"

The girl shrugged her shoulders, remaining quiet, but still giving him a cheeky smile. "Nothing." he answered his own question, nodding his head gently as he realised what had just happened. _He had let her win again._

"Well, we were just about to tell a story - as Clementine requested - would you care to join us?" Sarita asked, raising an eyebrow at the man while Sarah sat up straighter and waited for the answer. She was really hoping he would stay because Clementine kept telling her how cool story time with him was. She wanted to see for herself.

"Sure. Why not?" Nick said quietly, slouching forward more so he was depending entirely on his elbows and arms to keep his head from hitting the table. This posture was perfect because it meant his head was in arms reach of a certain little girl who was planning devious things to do.

She reached out and pulled his hat off his head, making him straighten up again. He lifted his hand to his head, feeling his jet black hair, before frowning at the girl who held his cap with both hands at the edge of the table. "Can I have that back?" he asked, already knowing it was going to take more than asking to get it back.

Clementine could tell he already knew the answer, so she didn't reply, instead she pulled her cap off and pushed it out towards him. "Let's try this!" she explained, placing his cap over her head. It was too big, but she didn't mind.

She giggled at the half-image-Nick she could see from under the bill of his cap while his eyes widened in amusement. Sarita and Sarah both laughed along at the exchange, but Nick still hadn't placed the brighter cap on his head yet.

Clementine reached across and picked it up, holding it out to him instead, hoping he'd take it in his hands this time. It worked and he took it from her smaller hands, spinning it around in his. "Sorry, Clem, but I don't think this'll fit my big head." Nick concluded, holding the cap back out the her.

Of course the child wasn't giving up the easily. She took his cap off her head, but kept it on the seat next to her, confusing the three other's who had no idea what she had planned.

Her curls swayed in the breeze while nothing covered her head like her cap usually did. Christa had cut her hair pretty short on the top, but in the few weeks the toddler and woman had been separated, Clementine's hair was starting to get long again. She liked it short, but long felt good too.

Clementine took her cap back from Nick and looked at the back of it. "It's okay. Look! That's _snaps_ on the back. Chrisa says 'snap _them all_ for _little heads_, snap _one_ for _big heads_.'" she raised her eyes to look at Nick while stifling a laugh, "I'll put one snap 'cos you're a big head." Surprisingly, even Nick laughed at this instead of pouting like he usually did. It was refreshing after all the drama they had been exposed to in the last few days.

The girl handed her cap back across the table and placed Nick's on her head again, again having trouble seeing under it. "Spin it the other way, Clem." Sarah said, smiling across the table. "Huh?" Clementine asked, pushing the cap up so she could aim her confused question directly at the older girl.

"I'll help!" Sarah exclaimed, happily kneeling up and leaning across the table so she was closer to the small girl. She wrapped her fingers around the bill of the cap and twisted it around until it pointed out at the back of Clementine's head. Now that snaps were at the front.

"I never knowed to wear it this way..." Clementine revealed, her hands pushing Nick's cap firmer onto her head. It pulled back a little, but that was okay. The girl could see her curls poking through the gap above the snaps when she rolled her eyes as high as she could. It was cool!

"Story time!" the youngest girl exclaimed, placing her hands under her chin and her elbows firm on the table to hold her head up. Her eyes went from Nick to Sarah, but she couldn't see Sarita in her peripheral vision. "Okay, let's begin..."

"Wait! Can Nick tell the story?" Sarah cut in, placing her hands together as she begged Sarita to give over the responsibility to the young man. She was practically jumping in her seat, repeating 'please' over and over quietly.

Clementine's hands slipped out from under her chin and slammed down onto the table in excitement, her head snapping in Sarita's direction as she kicked her legs and chanted along with Sarah. Nick hadn't told her a story before, but the story he allowed her to tell him was awesome and she wondered if his would be as cool.

"Okay, okay!" Sarita laughed, giving in quickly while she chuckled at the two girl's behaviour. Nick was shaking his head, not liking that idea at all. "Come on, Sarah. You know I-I'm not good at this kind of stuff... And you're setting a bad example to Clementine." He mumbled the last part, but the toddler still heard it. She didn't understand what he was saying.

Sarah backed down, lowering her head sadly and apologising quietly. Sarita instantly went to her aid, "You did nothing wrong, Sarah. I still think Nick should tell the story." She then turned to Nick with narrowed eyes, "This will be your chance to practice with the kids, Nick. You'll need it, especially with these girls and with Rebecca's baby on the way..."

Clementine watched as a finger was aimed in her direction as Sarita made her point clear to the man across from her. "I-it's okay, no story..." the girl said, sliding off the bench and beginning to walk towards the fire, her gaze fixed on Luke's back again.

"No, Clem-" Sarita's words died on her tongue while Clementine found two hands lifting her off the ground from under her arms. She turned her head to try and see who it was, surprised by the sudden weight that was lifted from her legs. "No, no, you're right," Nick mumbled as he carried the girl back to her spot.

She was sat back down at her original seat and looked to her side to see Nick walking back to his seat and sitting down. "I have nothing better to do anyway." he admitted, crossing his arms on front of him. He looked to Sarah, then Sarita, then Clementine, "What kind of story do you want?"

The two children spat their idea's at him, Sarah doing most of the creating since Clementine couldn't seem to get a word in. Luckily, Sarita was able to calm Sarah down enough so that the toddler could tell Nick what she wanted in his story.

"A dragon!" she gasped, remembering all the stories Duck used to tell her and the pictures in his comic books. Dragon's were cool, dangerous, but always fun to hear about. At first, Clementine was scared of them, fearing they were real, but over time she had grown to love them along with the other mythical creatures Duck had introduced her to.

"Now that sounds like something I'd like in the story too." Nick agreed, finally smiling after the long list of girly things Sarah had given him. He was glad to finally have something manly to include in this infamous bedtime story. "Don't forget a princess!" Sarah exclaimed, grabbing at the mans arm.

Nick pulled his arm away slightly, motioning his hands in a 'calm down' manner, "I won't, I won't..."

"Okay, let's get started. Nick?" Sarita's words silenced the other two girls, and Nick cleared his throat before beginning his tale. "Uh, yeah. Once upon a time..."

* * *

Clementine gained consciousness when she felt a hand on her back. She was confused at first, but quickly realised what had happened. She had fallen asleep kneeling on the bench, her head resting on her arms while she had been listening to Nick's amazing, seemingly never ending story.

Clementine groaned in annoyance when she felt herself be lifted up and held close to someone, her head landing on their shoulder. "Shhh, it's okay, Clem. Go back to sleep." Pete said in a hushed voice. The girl was taking what he said and putting it to use while she lifted her hand and put her thumb in her mouth, snuggling up to the old man.

"Good girl." Pete whispered, rubbing her back more as Clementine began questioning what was going on more. Pete soon stopped walking, and a hand brushed some hair off the girls face. "Is she asleep?" A quiet whisper reached her ears and she opened her eyes to investigate. Rebecca smiled at her, turning to Alvin who was next to her. "I guess not." he said, chuckling quietly.

Clementine looked around and realised they were standing by the gate. She lifted her head, noticing all the other's were talking about the plan again close by. "We're leaving?" she asked, tiredness coating her words. Pete looked at her and nodded, but she could tell he had more to say. "You need your sleep."

The girl knew she wouldn't be allowed to do much when the time came for the plan to be put into place. That didn't mean she wasn't going to keep trying to get involved. "No, I don't want." she said, pushing away from him only to be held tighter. She whined and whined, finally catching someone else's attention.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" Luke asked, stepping in and looking at Pete and the distressed girl confused. "Luke..." Clementine cried, reaching out for him. The younger man narrowed his eyes, a small smile on his face while he looked straight to Pete in amusement. "I'm guessing she's cranky 'cos you woke her up." he stated, receiving a nod as an answer,"Yup."

Luke took Clementine into his arms, thinking that would calm her down, but instead she fought against him until he stood her down. She finally smiled and lifted her hand to take his. "Is that all you wanted? To be put down?" Luke chuckled, taking her hand while she nodded her head.

Luke bent down and leaned in closely, "I'll let you in on a little secret." he whispered. Clementine looked at him curiously, "Next time you want down, just _ask_, okay?"

"Okay..." Clementine nodded, but pouted, knowing that this was a warning to behave herself. She didn't want to make anyone angry, she just wanted to help. Luke ruffled her hair, making this girl uncomfortably aware that she wasn't wearing her or Nick's caps anymore.

Luke noticed her confusion and pulled her cap out of his back pocket, "Here you go. Nick gave me this a while ago. He said you took his, but he managed to get it back without waking you." Clementine was grateful for the returning of her possession, her head looking up to follow Luke's as he stood back up. "Thank you."

"Okay, everyone's got a necklace, right?" Skyler asked, making sure they weren't forgetting anyone. No one stepped up asking for one, so obviously she had made her rounds to everyone. Bonnie and Johnnie already had theirs and were nearby preparing to open the gate so they could go. They were just waiting for the signal.

The signal was the biggest part of the plan. When Warren radioed his team to tell them what was happening and where they had to go, he received an instant reply, being told that they were nearby waiting because Bishop had told them he was sure they had gotten in. He wasn't wrong.

"We're coming in quiet and taking them by storm. If what you've told us is true, then the dumb-ass guards there should be watching the herd, not us. We can take 'em out easily! You did good, bro." A man said through the device, sounding about as young as Warren and Skyler.

"Thanks. Skyler did most of the planning though..." Warren admitted, smiling at his twin while she beamed at the proudness in her brother's eyes. "Dude, we're so getting a promotion after this..." the other kid said, while Warren agreed.

"Okay," the voice in the radio said, "Val says that once we see a gate around back with a red haired chick guarding it, to give the signal. That's two flashes of our necklaces, got it? She and Bishop said as soon as you see that, it means the path to the expansion is clear and you should start making your way there."

"Okay, got it. Oh, and remember, you owe me a candy bar, Chase. I want it as soon as we see you." Skyler rolled her eyes as her brother and his best friend interacted casually in the middle of a secret mission. It was exactly what she expected from them.

"Yeah, dude. I got three; one for me, you and Sky. You're welcome."

Warren hid the radio again, smirking at the other's who had been listening in, making it clear to them all that he was still just a kid really. The signal was clear though, and everyone knew what to except now. Everyone except Clementine.

"Just stick with me until we get to the expansion, okay?" Luke said, pulling her towards him so she would look at him instead of Jane and Mike. She really enjoyed being around them for reasons he didn't know. He was watching them closely around his girl.

"Can I go with Mike?" she asked, smiling innocently up at her guardian waiting for the answer. "Wha-? No, Clem. We ain't got time to start switching partners now. Listen to me okay, I'm gonna tell you the plan."

Luke's words caught the girls attention, and she kept in the whine she wanted to release after being denied what she asked for. "We're going outside, right, Luke?"

"Yeah, Clem. We're going in pairs, slowly and quietly until everyone makes it to the expansion. Then we need to climb the wall, don't worry I'll boost you, and get to the other side. There's gonna be a few lurkers out there-"

"I don't like walkers..." Clementine cut in, shaking her head at this idea. Couldn't they wait until the walkers were gone?

"I know, kiddo, but we've got to be brave tonight. Anyway, once we're over the fence, you need to stay with Carlos and Sarah, okay? They'll keep you safe until we meet up again." Luke watched as the realisation that he wasn't staying with her crossed her face. Her hands shot out and grabbed his sleeves, little upset puffs coming from her mouth as she struggled to find her words.

"I-I- No! I wanna stay with you!" she exclaimed, feeling panic engulf her at the thought of losing him. He was supposed to be her team, and teams always stuck together. Why was he doing this?

"Shh, it's okay, it's _okay!" _Luke shushed her, pulling her a little closer so he could rest his hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "I'll only be a few feet ahead of you, keeping you and Carlos, Rebecca and Sarah safe. I promise I'll give you a big hug when we're safe and we can lay down under the trees and watch the stars. How does that sound?"

Clementine relaxed a little, thinking about what they'd get to do when they were free. They could always star gaze out in the pen, but never had the chance because they were either working, eating or just sleeping. "It sounds nice..." she whispered, letting herself smile along with Luke. "Yeah, yeah it does." he said quietly.

The little girl finally agreed to stick by his side the whole was, at least until Luke was purposely leaving her to protect the entire group by going through the herd first. He had let this small detail about him risking his life out of the plan he gave Clementine for her own safety. He knew she'd cry, and probably not stop for quite a while. That could get her in trouble with Carver, and Luke was not risking it.

"Okay, I think we're ready to go..." Alvin mumbled, staring through the bars in the gate seeing movement from the darkness at the opposite end of the building. Everyone else mirrored his stance, staring out into the store. Suddenly, two flashes of green shone in the distance before darkness consumed the far end again.

Bonnie and Johnny both began to open the gate while everyone turned on their necklaces. Pete bent down to help Clementine find her switch and she gave him a small high five once the light turned on. He and Nick left first, walking to the far end of the building into the darkness. Just before they turned the corner of the last isle, Nick stepped back into the light and gave the thumbs up for the next pair to start moving.

The pairs began departing - Mike and Jane, Kenny and Sarita, Rebecca and Alvin, Carlos and Sarah - until only Luke, Clementine, Skyler and Warren remained. Bonnie guarded Rebecca and Johnny guarded Sarah so they had left in three's.

Luke took Clementine's hand and they began to leave the pen for the last time, but not before Skyler placed her hand on the older man's shoulder to stop him. "Warren and I are helping our people. If we don't meet up with you at the expansion, then I just want to let you know that we're glad to have met you guys. You're the one's who helped us finally take over this place, and we are forever in your debt. All of us, not just me and him." She pointed to her brother while he nodded his head in agreement.

The young boy looked to Clementine, his bright eyes meeting her wolf amber ones. "I guess this is goodbye, Clementine."

When the child had first met him, she didn't trust him and had even been afraid of him. Now she knew he was as kind as humanly possible and he and his sister were awesome people. Hearing that she might not see them again hurt her heart. This reminded her of when Lee left her. She nodded her head as she felt her lip begin to tremble.

"Aw, no, don't cry..." The nineteen year old felt guilty, but Clementine didn't cry, she simply wiped at her eyes before smiling. "Maybe we can go _Texas_ and see you!" she explained, watching as the boys eyes widened. He was surprised that she had remembered him mentioning their base in Texas, but didn't say anything about it.

Instead, he agreed. "I'm sure we will, some day."

Skyler stepped in giving the three year old her best smile. "Seeya at Texas then, lil ranger." she said in her best southern accent, earning a hurt huff from the southern man that listened next to her. She then leaned down to Clementine's height and passed over a small item wrapped in brown paper. "And happy early birthday."

The girl smiled at the small object in her hand then turned to smile to Skyler, getting a wink from the older girl before the twins backed up and prepared for the final goodbyes. With a few quick hugs from both Skyler and Warren, Clementine and Luke said their thank you's and began leaving the pen.

As they walked down the corridor, Clementine realised a few things. It was awfully quiet, kind of spooky, and she could have sworn she saw somebody laying on the floor behind one of the shelves in a poorly lit part of the store. "Luke...?" she questioned as quietly as she could, but the man just shushed her, telling her they could talk when they got outside.

Her eyes wandered up to Carver's office. The light was on, but she knew he wasn't up there. Bonnie had explained to the group how Carver and a few other high ranked guards were in the stockroom doing some last minute stock counts.

The sound of footsteps to her left caught Clementine's attention. She turned her head to see a figure striding towards them. She gasped and pulled on Luke's hand, pointing to the person. "Luke!" she called, pulling harder on his hand until he followed her finger.

That gravelly chuckle reached both ex-pen-dwellers ears and Luke pulled Clementine up into his arms with a grunt while Carver stepped out of the shadowy isle. He had a gun in hand, pointed at Luke's head.

"You seriously thought you'd get away with this; taking _my child _from me, along with the other child I was raising better than anyone else ever has?" An insane glare as cold as ice was aimed directly at Luke - who just stood with the toddler, preparing to make a run for it. "I should've never let you leave that office, Luke. I should have beaten you to death like I had planned. I'm not making the same mistake again..."

Clementine could only stare in fear as Carver's finger began to squeeze on the trigger. Before he shot, however, another person dived on front of the leader, grabbing the gun. "Run!" Skyler yelled, trying her hardest to pull the gun from Carver's hands.

Sadly, the nineteen year old girl was no match for the burly man. Carver twisted her arm, spinning her around until her back was pinned to his chest and she stopped struggling. The gun was placed to her head, a smug grin on the evil man's face.

"Stop!" Warren yelled, stepping out of cover with complete panic on his features. "Don't hurt her, _please_!" he begged, falling apart as he watched his sister being so close to death. This had never happened before. They were always the one's with the upper hand, the one's who put other's in headlocks to stop them from murdering innocent people.

Never had the twins, the innocent people, been the one's held captive by the murderers.

"I knew you would be trouble. It was you who killed so many of my people, wasn't it? I'll not show mercy after what you've done." Carver hissed, pushing the barrel of his gun harder against Skyler's temple. She remained surprisingly quiet, her eyes looking to the opposite side to where her brother stood; the way Luke and Clementine were supposed to be going.

Luke began to step forward, giving himself up to save the twins, but Carver wasn't having it. He wasn't listening to anything anyone had to say, and the two men were both beginning to lose hope that any of them would leave that hall. Clementine and Skyler knew different though.

After following the older girl's gaze, Clementine saw Kenny approaching slowly from around the corner. He had come back to see what was taking the child and man so long to get to the expansion, and now that he knew why, we was there to help.

Once the bearded man caught Clementine's eye, he pressed his finger to his lip, telling her to be quiet. She nodded her head, luckily no one in the danger zone noticing except Skyler.

Clementine turned her gaze to Luke, who looked down at her worriedly. "It's okay..." he whispered, trying to false assure himself more than the child. The girl simply smiled up at him, "I know."

No sooner than the words left her mouth, Kenny tackled Carver to the ground. Skyler scrambled away on all fours until Warren helped her up, both of them waiting for an opening to help Kenny. The older man looked to Luke and Clementine, grunting in pain as a fist connected with his neck, "RUN!" he yelled.

Luke didn't have to be told again. He ran to the end of the hall and around the corner. "No! Luke, stop! We can help! Lu-" Clementine's struggle was cut short when a gunshot rang out behind them. Luke stopped running even though the door was up ahead. Clementine wiggled in his grip until she was stood down. They both turned, waiting for Kenny to follow them.

He never came.

Instead, another gunshot rang out and then Skyler stumbled around the corner, waving her hand for the two escapees to keep moving. "Go! We've got this!" she yelled, sparing them one finale look before returning to the main part of the building.

Luke took Clementine's hand and began leading her to the door, assuring her they were safe now. Just before he opened the door, he bent down to her level and smiled triumphantly. "This is it, kiddo. We're getting outta here."

Clementine nodded her head, smiling along with the man as they enjoyed this moment of victory. "When we get out here, I might not see you again until later tonight, okay? Just stay with Sarah and Carlos, and when we meet up again, we'll celebrate and dance-"

"-and watch the stars!" The three year old added, remembering what they had planned earlier that day. Luke nodded his head, also recalling what they had planned. "Yeah, and we'll stargaze until we're so tired, we can't keep our eyes open."

Clementine released a quick sigh, wrapping her arms around the man's neck and burying her face in his shoulder. "Promise you'll come back?" she asked, leaning back and locking eyes with him. "Of course, Clem! I'd never leave you like this if it wasn't necessary. Okay, we all ready to get out there?"

The girl nodded her head, new determination on her face as she stepped back so Luke could stand up. She _was_ gonna see him again, _no matter what! _

"Hello, freedom..." Luke whispered, pushing down the handle and shoving the door open.

* * *

**Chapter 23:**

* * *

Clementine blinked a few times as the wind blew in her face when Luke opened the door to the expansion. It took her a minute to look up from her feet and see the group nearby doing something she found absolutely appalling.

Each and every person that had made it to the expansion was covering themselves in walker guts. Before Clementine could express her disgust, Luke beat her to it. "What the _hell_ is going on here?!" he gasped, his face crumpling up in revulsion.

Luke found himself shielding the three year old girl he had almost just died with from the people he was working to escape with and cared deeply for. These survivors were his only family, yet he found himself distrusting them because of their plan, or whatever it was they were doing. This over awareness crossed his mind for only a second, but the confusion of what was happening kept him tense.

This realisation about his lack of trust of his family at that moment made him even more cautious.

Mike was the first to start explaining, rubbing his filthy hands down his muck covered shirt. "It's Jane's idea. She says the walkers won't know we're alive if we smell like them. We're just as horrified as you, man. This is...horrible!" It was clear Mike didn't like being covered in the undead entrails, but it didn't seem like he had a choice.

Jane stepped forward, already coated and ready to jump the fence. "You need to get covered if you want out of here. We're already in the eye of the herd, and there's no way out of here except through them." This was the first thing Clementine had heard Jane say in front of everyone.

"What are you talking about?! We can...we can kill 'em or something! This is _dangerously stupid_, and if you think I'm letting this little girl smear herself in _that_, then I'm afraid you're _dearly_ mistaken-"

"Stop! We're wasting time! Just..._trust me_!" Jane cut off Luke's sudden change of heart about Clementine going through the herd, watching as he ran his hand through his hair unsurely.

"I trust you." Clementine spoke up, smiling at Jane from where she stood next to the man. To the little girls surprise, Jane smiled back at her thankfully.

"Okay, okay, I trust you too. We'll do as you say, but if _anything_ happens to _any of us_, I'm holding you responsible, Jane." Luke gave in, making it clear that he still had his worries. Jane agreed, assuring him things would go to plan.

She stood next to him for a minute, her eyes wandering down to Clementine who was watching the other's cover themselves in the awful waste. "If-if you want, I'll even keep an eye on Clementine. I've done this before, so I know what I'm doing." Jane offered to watch the girl as they went through the herd, but Luke declined, pointing out the Carlos and Sarah would keep her safe.

Jane seemed relieved that this was his answer.

"Clementine, come over here. We need to get you covered and safe." Carlos called the child's name, catching her attention. She felt her heart jump as she turned to look up at Luke, her hand still intertwined with his. The man smiled down at her, releasing her hand with close to no hesitation.

Clementine was a little more reluctant to leave him, staying by his side. "Clementine?" Carlos called again, making her even more afraid. This was really happening. They were going to walk _through the herd_ and Luke wasn't going to be there to hold her hand at all. Even with Carlos and Sarah there, the small girl couldn't calm herself down. She had such a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Go on, Clem. I'll seeya in a little while, remember? I won't break my promise." Luke's smile gave Clementine the courage she needed to walk over to Carlos and not turn back. She was ready for this to be over.

"Don't worry, Clem. You're safe with us." Sarah said while Carlos began smearing the guts all over Clementine's clothes and face - although he was careful not to put the goo on her injury so it wouldn't get infected.

The three year old was disgusted by the smell and feel of the warm substance all over her, but she got used to it pretty quickly. It still made her cringe, but she didn't feel sick like earlier that day. It was hard to believe that was less than twenty-four hours ago.

"Is everyone ready?" Mike spoke up, preparing to jump the gate. Everyone nodded while they stood prepared and ready to get out of there. There was a ladder for Rebecca, Alvin, Sarah and anyone else who couldn't jump the make-shit barricade, but Mike was going over his own way.

"Wait, where's Kenny?!" Sarita spoke up, looking around in confusion and concern. "And Johnny?" Bonnie asked, noticing that her fellow guard was nowhere to be seen. He had _all_ the supplies too...

"We don't have time! They know where to go, we'll meet them at Parker's Run." Pete explained, keeping close to his nephew who was anxiously waiting for the next instructions so they could get out of there. He was sure they were all going to die.

"Okay, let's do this!" Luke said, leading to Mike's take-off over the fence and into the herd on the other side. The undead didn't seem to notice his humanly presence. One by one, the group began to leave, disappearing into the monsters.

Clementine watched from behind the fence through a gap in the panel as Rebecca vanished through the walkers. She tried to see where Luke had gone, but he had long retreated ahead of most of the others. She couldn't even count on their necklaces to show their whereabouts because they all had been turned off, including her own.

Carlos, Sarah and Clementine were the last to leave. The smallest girl was carried up the ladder and gently stood down on the other side of the wall. The walkers were close to the gate, but none had tried to break down the weak wall to the expansion. They also didn't pay much attention to the last of the escapees.

"Okay, let's go. Stay close and stay quiet, girls."

Carlos walked first, Sarah sticking close behind and Clementine trying to keep as close to Sarah as she could. The three year old could feel her heart in her chest and her fear was getting worse and worse.

Some walkers brushed against her, increasing her fright more. She was close to tears the entire time, even covering her mouth at one point to stop her whimpers from being heard by the monsters around.

Suddenly her eyes landed on a familiar body. Her eyes widened and she stopped walking, her hands falling to her side uselessly. She could feel her leg's trembling, her tears falling freely as she watched the zombified Troy walking amongst the other walkers.

Why was he out there? Didn't anyone..._put him down_? She had done that to him; she had made him into that beast which walked around the parking lot of Howe's. Clementine felt her chest aching while the guilt she nursed took it's toll on her again.

"Clem!" Sarah whisper-shouted, turning around and tugging on Clementine's hand. "What's wrong? We have to keep goin-"

"Sarah?!" Both girls turned their heads to look to where Carlos should have been, but all they saw was a wall of lurkers. Sarah instantly began to panic, looking around for her father. "Dad?!" she called loudly, hyperventilating as she spun around, her eyes darting in every direction.

"DAD!?" Clementine clung to the teens leg, crying openly as she noticed the walker's staring them both down. They had blown their cover, and both girls were engulfed in paralysing fear.

Walker's surrounded them, moaning and groaning hungrily as they began reaching out for the children. Clementine could barely breathe when she felt Sarah pull away from her. The teen ran off out of the herd and into the forest.

Clementine was left alone, lifting her hands to her face and cowering into herself as the walker's lunged at her. Before any could reach her, she heard a gunshot and the closest beast fell to the ground - dead. The girl turned towards the sound to see Bonnie, the only person with a gun, pointing the weapon at the monsters around the child.

Clementine was about to run to the woman, but the walkers had been drawn to the sound of the gun and were teaming up on the red haired girl. Bonnie had no choice but to leave the area, leave Clementine, and get to safety. Once again, the girl felt completely alone and the undead were coming for her again.

"Shit...grab her! I'm going after Sarah!" Before one of the closer walkers could reach out to Clementine, the girl found herself being hauled off the ground. She watched as Luke pushed through the walkers and began chasing after Sarah. She knew he was close when he spoke, but now he was leaving her again.

Clementine choked out a sob while the person fixed their grip on her with the one hand they used to haul her off her feet. Clementine turned her gaze away from the growling monsters and looked to the man she least expected to see. Nick didn't look down at her, instead he began pushing through the walkers, knocking several of them onto the ground.

Clementine still cried, looking over Nick's shoulder to see the walkers growing fewer and fewer around them until they were disappearing into the distance along with Howe's. It was then she came to the realisation that Luke and Nick had come back for her and Sarah.

"Luke, wait up!" Nick called, struggling to run and carry the girl at the same time. It was hard to run without the use of both his arms to keep him steady, and he didn't want to risk falling and injuring the distressed child in his arms. As much as he hated being left to baby her, he'd never wish pain or injury upon her.

Luke looked over his shoulder, but didn't slow down. "We can't lose her!" he yelled, continuing to follow Sarah's path. Nick lifted Clementine higher on his hip while panting exhaustedly, "We'll catch up to you; don't let her get away!"

Clementine went quiet, her eyes still puffy from crying. She felt so much better now that she was in someone's protective hold and there was no threat around. Nick had stopped running, moving, and looked at her, his eyes scanning her face, lingering in her eyes while she stared at him blankly.

"You didn't get bit, did you?" he asked, worry etched into his face. The girl shook her head, another wave of relief running through her veins. She didn't get hurt at all. She was very lucky, even she knew that.

"Okay, good." Nick smiled, nodding his head happily. No one had gotten hurt, it was definitely not what he expected to happen, and so was worth a smile of gratitude to whatever force had appealed to his better nature and forced him to do as Luke asked and help him track down the girls.

Clementine wiped her eyes with her sleeve, smearing more walker guts across her face. Nick pulled an old rag out from his back pocket and wiped it across the child's face. It removed most of the gross blood off her skin, and she thanked him quietly as he shoved it back into his pocket.

"Okay, let's get going again. I don't want to be stuck out here in the dark for much longer..."

"Me neither..." Clementine agreed with this plan, sniffling as the last of her panic washed over and then looking around into the darkness that surrounded them. It was scary, but she felt safe with Nick. He never seemed scared of anything, but Rebecca had told her he was. She began to wonder... "Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you scared?"

There was a moment of silence, broken by a quiet sigh from the tall man. "A little, yeah." It was weird hearing him say that out loud, but also comforting. It was true. Even Nick got scared, and he was supposed the _be_ the scary one - Big and tall, angry and loud-mouthed; yet Clementine couldn't have felt any happier being safe in his company.

They sure had come a long way since they day they first met.

"I wish we had a flashlight or something..." The man muttered, squinting in the dark to get a better look at his surroundings. There were just trees, trees, and more trees; no signs of Luke or Sarah anywhere.

"What about this?" Nick looked down to see Clementine lifting her necklace out towards him. He stopped walking, staring at her for a second before smirking and nodding. "That's actually not a bad idea." He pushed the button on his charm and it shone bright, lighting up Clementine's face. He then helped her turn on hers.

They now stood out among the trees, their necklaces illuminating the area around them; only them. "Okay, we need to find Luke and Sarah; or anyone else either." Clementine nodded her head, preparing for the job at hand, but she was feeling pretty tired and wasn't sure she could stay awake to help look for the others. A yawn escape her mouth and she rubbed her left eye tiredly with the clean part of her palm.

Nick took note of this, but kept quiet. He knew she'd be tired, but he didn't know how to handle it.

The wind was picking up and pushing Nick forward with it's force. He began walking faster, looking straight ahead of him. Clementine leaned against his shoulder, looking ahead too. She saw something in the distance, but it was hard to make it out in the dark.

The closer they got, the more vivid the object became. Clementine still wasn't sure what it was, but Nick spoke up to inform her. "There's a wrecked car. Still no sign of the others." he explained, walking straight past the rusted red vehicle.

"They're okay, isn't they?"

"Uh...yeah, I'm sure they are."

Clementine could sense the unsureness to these words, but she still believed them. Everyone was fine.

_Everyone was fine. _

"What's that?" She spoke up again, pointing to what she could see up ahead. It looked like some sort of wall. It reminded her of the expansion wall, and that caused her a little unease.

"Dunno. But, maybe we'll find Sarah here."

"And Luke?"

"Yeah, we'll find 'em both." Nick slowly approached the wall. Two corpses lay on the ground, both wearing police uniforms. They clearly weren't who the duo were looking for.

Another body lay nearby beside an old pick-up truck. That wasn't what the young man carrying the toddler was interest in though, it was the red rimmed glasses near it that caught his eyes. "Okay, now we're getting somewhere."

He bent down and picked them up after taking an arm out from under Clementine's legs. It took him a minute to stand up again, grunting as he did so. "You're getting bigger, Clem." he remarked, looking at her with a small smile. "My birthday's in two days." she reminded him, receiving a nod.

"Luke's birthday is coming up too. He's also getting bigger, which is why I don't carry his ass- _him_ around anymore."

Clementine knew it was a joke, and the funny image of Nick carrying Luke like a baby made her laugh out loud. It seemed that one joke lightened her mode a whole lot more than her or Nick ever thought it could. "You'll not have'ta carry me no more soon. I'm _not_ a baby anymore." the girl explained, making her thoughts clear.

"I know you ain't, you're just short and not as strong as the rest of us. But you'll get taller and stronger as time goes on; that's what Pete used to tell me, anyway..." Nick trailed off, his eyes scanning the wall until they landed on a hole in the fence. "I think I see a way in."

He handed the glasses to Clementine and she pushed them down into her jacket. They would be safe in there until they found Sarah and Luke. Nick walked around the gate until they came to the hole he had spotted. It seemed as though someone had used a tool to pierce the fence and make a hole big enough for a man Nick's size to walk through without having to bend down too far. It was convenient, but odd.

"Man, am I tired..." Nick whispered, stepping through the hole and into the area beyond it. A swing set sat directly on front of the hole, a yellow slide lying on it's side on front of them. On any other day, Clementine would've begged to be sat on a swing to try it out since she'd only ever been on one before - at the dairy farm - and she loved it back then. That night, however, all she wanted was to find her friends and go to sleep.

"It's quiet...too quiet." Nick was mumbling, more to himself than Clementine, but the child still listened. He was right. There wasn't a sound to be heard. "Let's see if anyone's around here." the man said, standing Clementine down on the opposite side of a white picket fence that surrounded the small play-area-garden. He then jumped over it, landing next to her. "Stick close."

The three year old didn't wish to get separated from Nick, but she wanted to really help by looking around. While Nick investigated a trailer window to see if anyone was inside, Clementine wandered a few feet away trying to see if there was anywhere else she could check for him.

In the darkness, she couldn't see the walker laying on the ground until it grabbed her ankle. She screamed as she tripped over, kicking at it blindly while she tried to crawl away. She heard a loud squelching noise and then felt two hands pick her up and stand her down.

She turned her head to see the walkers head crushed down with a boot mark on the side of it's head. "That was close. I thought I asked you to stick close?"

Nick looked down at her with a small frown, making her frown too. "I-I'm sorry, Nick. I was _helping!_" she explained, sadness and fright still lingering in her words. Nick just shrugged, "Whatever. At least no one got hurt, right? I don't have a weapon so we have to be careful. You can help by staying with me and listening out for anything. Maybe you'll hear somethin'..."

Clementine nodded her head, glad Nick wasn't angry at her. It was almost as if his anger had vanished in the last couple of days. Clementine wasn't sure, but she had her suspicions that she was partly the reason why.

"C'mon." Nick led Clementine to the door to the trailer he was investigating and opened it for her. Once they got indoors, Nick closed the door looked around. It was a lot less windy inside but there was literally nothing there except a few smashed wooden boxes. "Nothing." the man sighed, running his hand over his face. "Let's go out back, Clem."

The little girl skipped close to his side, reaching up and taking his hand. He slowly let his fingers clasp around her small fist and they both left the dark indoors to go back out into the wind. "Maybe there's a more places near?" she suggested, trying to keep their hopes up.

Nick just nodded at this idea, looking across the street to see another trailer. Clementine looked up to see the man squinting at the small home across the street, as if he had seen something she didn't. "Let's try that one."

As the walked across, Clementine could've sworn she heard voices. They were quiet, but then raised for a second, before getting quiet again. "I hear stuff." Clementine said, squeezing Nick's hand so he'd listen. He did, smirking when he heard the talking coming from the trailer they were about to enter, "I knew I saw someone through the window..."

He put his hand on the door knob and twisted it, but the door was locked from the inside. "Oh, come _on_..." he growled, pushing against the door harder. Clementine tried to help too, placing her back to the door and pushing against it. It wasn't moving.

The little girl jumped in surprise when Nick began pounding on the door loudly. He didn't say anything, just thumped at the wooden door while the voices came to a stop. There was a clicking noise and Nick stopped beating the wood, watching as the door opened slowly. Luke stood there, looking slightly shaken, but smiling none the less. His necklace shone brightly, being the only light exiting the building.

"I knew you'd catch up." Luke said matter-of-factly, giving his friend a smirk. Nick didn't really appreciate the jokes at such a time, just placed his hand on Clementine's back and pushed her inside gently. He was surprised she hadn't just ran straight to Luke as soon as she saw him. Instead, she stuck with him.

"Clem..." Once he saw the girl, Luke bent down and pulled the child into a tight hug. "I'm so glad I went back to find you girls. I had a bad feeling in my stomach, like you did. _I had a bad feeling something was going to happen to you._ And if we hadn't have shown up when we did, s-something might've..." He mumbled all his feelings into her cap while she just snuggled close to him, taking all his heat in.

She could've fallen asleep right there and then.

"What about Sarah? She's here too, isn't she?" Nick spoke up, closing the door and locking it again. "Yeah, she's in the room back there." Luke stood up with Clementine in his arms, pointing to the room at the end of the hall to the right of the door Clementine and Nick had just come in through.

The little girl looked around the main room, taking in all the sights.

This trailer looked a lot different than the trailer Clementine and Nick had just come from. Next to the door was a tall, thick bookshelf that had been robbed of all it's objects. Not a single item sat on the shelves, not that it mattered anyway.

On the opposite side of the front door, in the left corner, was a small kitchen. A large fridge still stood against the wall, making the toddler question if there was still food inside it. She was getting hungry...

Next to the fridge was an old oven. It was rusted and most likely broken. Some counter tops circled the small tiled kitchen, blocking it off from the living room that was built on. There were also cabinets on the wall, all shut - as if no one had rooted through them yet.

The small living room was pretty much empty, only a few small boxes scattered around and an old moldy carpet covering the floor. The small building was still pretty empty, but it was more than Clementine had been expecting, and it was kind of cosy.

Nick walked past Luke and Clementine and started making his way down the small hall, past a closed door and towards the open room at the very end. He stopped in the doorway and turned his head to look down at Sarah who sat right next to said door, against the wall with her knees up at her chest.

"Why'd you run off?" the young man asked, slight irritation coming through in his tone. The teen didn't answer, just stared at her knees, trembling in fear. "Sarah? Are you listening to me?" Nick was getting more angry as the girl ignored him.

Luke stepped forward down the hall and placed his hand on the younger mans shoulder. "She just wants her dad. I was thinking we spend the night here, since it's relatively safe, and then find the others tomorrow. They should be at Parkers Run, waiting for us."

"And what if they ain't?" Nick asked, eyebrows furrowing together. He knew he was asking for a fight, and he also knew that his uncle would never leave knowing that there was a high chance his nephew was nearby, but that didn't stop the nagging thoughts that invaded his mind.

He had always been a direct, straight-to-the-point kind of guy, and that wasn't going to change anytime soon. He would share his thoughts no matter how negative they were, and just hope someone could give him a realistic, believable answer to his problems.

"They will be." Luke said, his voice growing more serious, a slight warning edge to it. That was a goof enough answer for Nick, and the jet black haired man backed down, just shrugging and leaning against the door frame.

Clementine noticed Luke's warning, looking at the side of his head while he held her in his arms. It was always weird seeing him angry, or confused, or even scared like he was back at the expansion. The girl didn't like seeing him like that.

Clementine found herself staring at Sarah, the teen staring back at her. There was clear sign of guilt in the older girls eyes, but Clementine didn't have the energy to talk or investigate right then.

She yawned involuntarily again, her eyes willing her to close them; but, being the stubborn girl she was, she didn't allow it.

"It's way past your bedtime, Clementine. Time to hit the hay." Luke stood the toddler on her own two feet and sat down across from Sarah, under the only window in the tiny room. He then pulled the girl onto his lap, letting her weight fall back against his stomach and chest.

Luke wrapped his arms around Clementine's chest, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb while looking up to Nick who still stood by the door. Nick watched them tiredly, messing with his necklace. It, along with Clementine's and Luke's, were the only sources of light in the room.

"You ain't gonna complain tonight, kiddo?" he asked, looking down at the girl's cap. She didn't respond. Luke soon realised why once he heard her soft breaths.

Clementine had fallen asleep as soon as her head made contact the man's body.

* * *

**Chapter 24:**

* * *

Clementine woke up in the early hours of the morning. She found herself lying in Luke's arms, not sure how she got there. The last thing she remembered was watching Nick sulk by the door.

The girl's drowsy eyes landed on Sarah, who was asleep in the same spot as the night before. Clementine remembered the teen had been very quiet and upset, but she wasn't sure why. It was then that she saw Sarah was not wearing her glasses. The toddler knew exactly why this was; since she could feel the frames of the red rimmed glasses against her stomach from where she hid them in her jacket.

Slipping out of Luke's arms, making the man stir in his sleep, but not waking him, Clementine pulled the glasses out of her jacket and held them in both hands. She noticed a crack in one of the lenses, but it didn't look too bad.

The girl crawled to Sarah's side and shook the teen awake. Sarah woke with a jump, her head snapping from left to right until he eyes landed on Clementine. The three year old sat back on her feet, just staring at the older girl in confusion.

"C-Clem..." Sarah began, her voice quiet and broken. This made Clementine slightly scared, her eyes piercing into her friends. "I found these." she whispered putting her hands out with the glasses. Sarah looked at them for a moment, not moving to take them. "They's only a little broken..." the smaller girl explained, a smile forming on her lips while she leaned closer to the teen, pushing the item against the girl's arm.

The faintest of smiles appeared on Sarah's face while she took the framed lenses in her hand and shakily placed them in there rightful place on her nose. She blinked a few times as things came back into focus, "Thanks, Clementine."

The toddler's smile grew now that she got Sarah smiling again. The smaller girl could always crack a smile and it only made her happier to see she could make others smile too. Omid used to tell her that her smile could light up the whole room! She wasn't sure what it meant at first, but she understood now.

Luke snorted in his sleep, catching both girls attention. Clementine couldn't stop herself from laughing, her body wracking while her contagious childish laugh echoed around the room. She covered her mouth to quiet herself down. Luke still didn't wake.

"I-I need to find my d-dad - do you know where he is?" Sarah's question stopped Clementine's giggles, turning the three year olds attention towards her. "I...don't know." Clementine admitted, lowering her head while she thought it over.

"We'll leave as soon as that...that lazy man over there wakes up." Both girls turned to look at Nick who stood at the door again, a small granola bar in his hands. Clementine jumped up, pointing to the food, then to her stomach. "I'm hungry..." she whined, looking the man straight in the eye.

Nick continued to munch on the bar, putting his hand on Clementine's head. "There's more in the kitchen, I'll get you one." He turned to leave the room, preparing to bring the girls food, but quickly realised he was being followed.

Clementine was practically at his heels, trailing behind him into the hall. He turned to look down at her, she looking up at him, before facing forwards again and just letting her do what she wanted. He couldn't bring himself to tell her off, and he knew there was no real reason to anyway.

Once they got to the kitchen, Clementine put her hands above her head and latched them to the counter, pulling herself onto her toes so she could almost see onto it. Nick reached down and picked up a wrapped bar from next to the old oven.

"Nick, 's all the others okay?" she asked, taking the bar from the man as he held it out for her. He even opened it for her without being asked. Nick leaned against the wooden cabinets and scratched his neck before replying, "I hope so."

This made the girl stop chewing on the bar, her eyebrows furrowing together in worry. She knew what Nick meant was he didn't know, and he was skeptical if they had or not. That wasn't a good sign.

"Why didn't you wake me?" Luke's voice traveled down the hall and into the main section of the trailer. "You looked so peaceful snoring like a pig." Nick joked, making Luke smile while he walked into the tiled part of the room.

"Mornin', Clementine. You feeling okay today?" Luke asked, bending down to look at the girl's distant stare. "Is something' wrong?" Clementine didn't answer.

"She's thinking about there others. She just asked me were they okay." Nick explained, placing the last of his bar on his tongue and letting it dissolve slowly in his mouth so he could enjoy the remains as much as possible. He was hungry for some real breakfast, not just some nutritious bar.

Luke smiled and placed his hand under Clementine's chin, latching his thumb and index finger around it gently. "They're fine, kiddo. We're going to fine 'em right now!" he explained, forcing her eyes to meet his. She smiled and the man released her face from his grasp, standing up and looking around the room.

"What did you tell her; after she asked you that question?" he asked, looking to Nick who just stared back. "I told her I hope so." the younger man said, some crumbs falling from his mouth as he spoke. Luke crossed his arms, looking down to the little girl who continued eating her food.

"You know she's a smart kid, Nick. She probably took what you said as something bad."

"Well that's not my fault."

"I never said it was." Luke raised his hands in surrender, not wanting to start anything with his friend. They all just wanted out of there and find the rest of the group, it was an good excuse to be grumpy. Nick just nodded on response, leaning back against the counter top. His elbow hit into an empty tin that sat on the wood, knocking it to the floor with an audible bang. Inside the mostly empty trailer, the sound echoed around noisily.

The man apologised quietly, watching Luke pick up the rubbish before looking down at Clementine while she crumpled the emplty wrapper of her bar up in a fist. "Done!" she chirped, most of the bar smeared along her lips and falling from her mouth as she talked.

"Alright, let's get Sarah and get out of here-"

A strong force suddenly slammed against the door, cutting off Luke and making Clementine jump with fright and latch onto his leg. Muffled walker growls flowed under the door and into the trailer.

"Oh shit..." Nick mumbled, stepping past Luke and Clementine and walking to the door. He peeked through the peep hole and then stood back, lifting his hat off his head and running his hand through his hair, mumbling foul words under his breath.

"What is it?" Clementine asked, sticking close to Luke as he walked over to the door to see for himself. "We're trapped." He spoke, his voice low and defeated. The banging continued on the door, growing slower, but still occurring loudly every couple of seconds.

The walkers were attracted to the trailer by the loud talking and even louder sound of the tin hitting the floor. In the silence of the trailer park, that one noise must have sounded as loud as a rocket lifting off to the undead. Their ears were tuned in and waiting for any sign of the living nearby and now they knew their snack was just beyond the front door.

"Let's go back to the room and close the door. Maybe they'll go away." Luke suggested, walking away from the door and towards the back of the house. "W-what was that noise?" Sarah asked, looking up from her knees to look at Luke standing in the door. "Nothing, Sarah. Don't worry about it..."

"I've a better plan - how's about I get on out through 'em and distract them long enough so you guys can get out?" Nick still stood by the front door, preparing to leave. Luke turned around and looked at him with a concerned expression on his face. Clementine followed Luke's path and squeezed past him, into the room with Sarah.

The young girl sat on the ground next to the teen and breathed out a shaky breath. She was scared.

"That's a stupid plan."

"Well do you have a better one?"

Nick's question was followed by silence before Luke clicked his fingers on front of his face and began walking back down the hall and into the main part of the trailer. "Yes, actually. If you think you can get outta here, go find the others and bring help."

The capped man took a moment to think the plan through before nodding his head determinedly. "Okay, yeah, I can do that." he said, clearly ready to get out of the trailer. "I'll push through 'em, jump the bannister thing and run back the way we came. I think I remember the way to Parkers Run, and it's in that general direction, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's that way. Just...don't go back to Howe's. And uh..." Clementine found herself being lifted up under the arms and hoisted out of the room by Luke. "...bring her with you."

Nick took the girl, but quickly stood her done, "Woah, man, no! What if I don't make it out? If I bring her down with me, I could never forgive myself. I'm already a mess after that thing with Matthew-"

"Calm down, Nick. I _trust_ you. If there's a chance you can get her back to Rebecca and Alvin soon, then we're taking the risk. They'll be able to keep her more safe than we can right now. We're in the middle of a _huge_ mess here, bigger than the whole 'Matthew' thing, and I don't know if we're making it out of here. You need to take her with you."

By now, Luke had placed both his hands on Nick's shoulders and was forcing the younger man to meet his gaze. His words were begging, the tone he spoke in was begging, even his eyes were begging for Nick to just accept the pleas and take Clementine to safety.

"W-what about Sarah?" Nick shot back after a moment of shock and silence. Luke smiled sadly, "She won't leave until she knows her dad's okay. That's who you need to find - Carlos. Bring him back here and we'll be fine. I'm sure Johnnie has gotten there by now, so grab a weapon from him and lead Carlos back here. Leave Clementine there."

"I-I wanna help!" Clementine spoke up, frowning at the brunette man who closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose after hearing her speak. He quickly got his bearings back and bent down to her level, taking her hands in his. "You're helping by doing what your told, okay?"

The banging against the door got louder and harder, scaring the toddler more. She didn't want to leave, she wanted to stay and leave when they could all go, but she knew that wasn't an option. Still, she wasn't going without a fight. "No!" she huffed, pulling her hands out of his and crossing them across her chest.

"Listen, Clementine. There's no time for this! You _need _to go!"

"No!"

"Clementine-"

"I'm. Not. Going!" she shouted, tears threatening to fall while she stepped back away from the man in protest. Luke stood up and turned to Nick, "Please, take her with you."

Clementine tried to push Nick away from her, but he held onto her tightly, not letting her wiggle free. "I'll get her to the others and bring back Carlos." With that, the young man opened the door and pushed his way through the few lurkers right outside the door.

The undead stumbled backwards as Nick's strength knocked them back a bit, but they quickly started turning on him and the little girl, attracted to the cries of Clementine trying to fight her way out of Nick's hold so she could go back inside.

Nick quickly placed his hand on the bannister along the stairs leading into the trailer and jumped over the solid object. Once he landed on the ground, he struggled to stop Clementine from breaking free as she thrashed around in his arms.

He did the only thing he could think of, lifting her higher and laying her over his shoulder, holding her tightly down in that position. She could do nothing but thump at his back and kick at his stomach. She was too small and weak to do him any harm.

The man took the same route he had taken to get to Luke and Sarah's trailer, going back through the empty trailer and past the walker he had stomped on to save the young girl he was trying to restrain. By now, the walkers had lost interest in them and began banging on the occupied trailer door again.

"Clementine, please stop..." Nick tried to calm the crying girl, glad that her screaming tantrum was over, but wanted the water works to pass too. "Th-this bad..." she cried, wiping at her eyes furiously while Nick pulled her off his shoulder and held her normally.

"No, this is good. We're free, and now we can go get help." the man explained, standing Clementine on the opposite side of the white picket fence so she was next to the toppled over slide. She still huffed in disappointment, a cast of anger forming over her tears while she waited for Nick to climb over the obstacle.

Once his feet touched the ground of the garden, Clementine started going ahead, around the fallen and broken toys and over to the hole in the fence they had climbed through when searching for the friends that they were now leaving behind. Her fury was boiling her blood, her rage mixing with a growing hatred towards everything and everyone around her.

"You need_ to stay with me." _Nick stopped her from going out first by placing his hand on her shoulder. She tried to pull away, but he kept her back by latching his fingers around the fabric of her jacket._ "_Will you listen to me?!" Nick snapped, losing her temper at the disobedient child.

Clementine flinched at his words, her fury shattered around her, narrowed eyes softening and tense stance relaxing as the anger was replaced with more hurt and sadness. It was then more than ever she wished she could join Lee and Christa, Omid or Duck again and just be happy; happy like she was with them not too long ago.

She had never felt the way she did right then ever before in her whole life.

A sob rose in her throat, escaping out her lips while she buried her head in her hands and tried pulling away from Nick again. Surprisingly, the man let her go, remaining quiet the whole time. Clementine stumbled forward, taking a hand away from her face to hold onto the gate and stable herself before she fell through the hole.

"Clem..." The girl turned her head to look at Nick as he kneeled down next to her. Her tears slowly crept down her cheeks, her one visible eye scanning the man's face in misery. She saw how guilty the man looked and lowered her other hand away from her face to see him properly and make sure she wasn't reading his features wrong.

He had a frown on his face, but it wasn't an angry frown, it was a regretful, slightly pained frown. He locked eyes with her, both taking note of the growing damage they were being delivered in this new world. Neither of them spoke for a moment, but Nick quickly spoke up.

"I-I'm sorry for shouting. I'm just...it's hard to not snap at ya when you're acting like this. I'm not like Luke, or Rebecca or Pete... I'm me, and that means I've got a bad temper, I'm not good with kids, and I'm not always in the best of moods for reasons I'd rather not share with you; or anyone for that matter... What I'm saying is - I didn't mean to shout, and I didn't mean to make you cry more. A-and I won't do it again, just so long as you listen to me and do as you're told. Can you do that for me? _Please?_"

Nick was taken back when he felt Clementine slam against him, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her head in his shoulder. It reminded him of the time she had killed Troy... The girl mumbled into his shirt, wiping her eyes as best she could while she clung to the man.

Nick slowly placed a hand on the toddlers back, patting it as comfortingly as he could. He wasn't sure what words were leaving her mouth and being lost in the folds of his shirt, but he didn't dare ask her to repeat after the breakdown he had just witnessed. After clearing his throat so his emotions were once against masked by his monotone voice, the young man began speaking again. "Are you ready to get going?"

Clementine nodded her head, lifting it off the blue fabric of Nick's shirt. He gave her a small, sideways smile before standing up and stepping through the hole in the metal gate. Once he was on the other side, he helped Clementine get through by lifting her to the opposite side of the barrier.

Once she made it through and was stood down again, she had calmed down enough to trust this new plan the adults had made.

Clementine knew they could find help and go back and save Luke and Sarah, even though the walkers were trying to break down the door... She also knew that she'd have a good chance at making the grown-ups let her go back and help since Luke wasn't there to force her to stay. Now that she thought about it, it wasn't the adults plan she was trusting - she had her own plan.

She raised her hands for Nick to lift her, since she was feeling pretty drained after her tantrum and heartache, and the young man didn't argue. He picked her up, but instead of carrying her on his hip awkwardly like he usually did, he lifted her up on his shoulders and held onto her legs tightly as they hung over them. "Hold on." He said, initiating the young child's action of clasping her hands around his forehead.

Nick began walking, pretty quickly, back the way they had come the day before. Clementine smiled at the view she had from up so high, her eyes looking down when Nick put his hand up to move her hands up a little since she was almost pulling his cap off her head with the way she was gripping it.

Once that small problem was averted, Nick picked up his pace even more, striding down the path with courage flowing through both survivors more and more with each step.

"Let's go get help."

* * *

**Chapter 25:**

* * *

"I think I see somethin'." Clementine lifted her head off of Nick's and looked forward to see what the man was talking about. Some kind of stone structure was coming into view in the distance. Nick had slowed down a few minutes before, running out of breath from the long walk they were taking.

They had been walking for quite a long time, an hour at least, but only because it had started to rain and Nick tried to find shelter for him and the girl under a tree. It didn't really work out as he hoped and both survivors still got soaked while they stood still under the leafy shelter they could find. At least the rain washed most of the walker guts off of them.

Nick kept the child on his shoulders the whole time.

Clementine noticed movement on front of the thing ahead of them, squinting to try and get a better look. It looked like two people. "Who's that?" she asked, hoping Nick had the answer. The young man shrugged, making the girl bounce on his shoulders, "Hopefully who we're looking for." Nick was never sure of anything.

The closer they got, the more easy it was to see the people ahead. Clementine watched as the figures she saw earlier became clearer, both of them noticing the duo coming towards them and raising there hands to signal they were friendly. "Looks like...Bonnie." Nick concluded after taking a minute to squint at the people, recognising the red hair of the woman.

"We found 'em!" Clementine exclaimed, her lips curling into a smile. She was glad they had actually found some of the group in such quick timing. Although she could only see two survivors, she was sure the others were nearby. She could sense it in the way Bonnie and, what looked like Mike, were acting.

"Hey! Nick! Clem!" Bonnie shouted, waving more excitedly and practically jumping up and down in place. Nick lifted his hands above his head and clasped them under Clementine's arms, lifting her down off his shoulders. He carefully stood her down and let her run ahead, keeping his slow pace behind her.

Clementine ran as fast as she could, smiling and waving back at the two people stood next to an stone arch and wall of some sort. Both adults kneeled down to greet the girl. "I'm so glad to see you! I was getting worried..." Bonnie revealed, smiling warmly at the girl.

Mike stuck out his hand while Clementine slowed to a jog on front of them and then stopped moving completely. She slapped her hand down against his, leaving it in his palm as he closed his fingers around it and shook her hand in an act of salutation. "Hey, princess." he said, his words making Clementine smile wider. She had never been called anything else but 'Clem' or 'Clementine' by the man.

"Is...um...Rebecca at here? And Carlos?" Clementine asked, pointing behind them as the two survivors nodding in sync. "Why?" Mike asked, raising an eyebrow while he thought about why the child would be searching for those two specifically.

"Wait, isn't Luke with you? Or Sarah; I thought you were with Sarah - I _saw you_ with Sarah..." Bonnie stood as she spoke, replaying the events of the night before in her head. "Nick, what's going on?" she asked as Nick finally made it to the meeting place.

"Luke and Sarah are trapped at a trailer park not too far from here. Luke stayed behind to keep Sarah company because she won't leave until she knows Carlos is okay; is he here?" Nick's question was answered when multiple friendly faces appeared from behind the statue, one of them being the man he was looking for.

Each survivor was approaching Nick and Clementine, relief on all their faces.

"You're okay!" Rebecca exclaimed, stepping forward with a huge smile on her face. A frown quickly took it's place when she noticed only Clementine and Nick had made it back. "Where's Sarah? Wasn't Luke with you?"

Nick could only shake his head as Carlos approached him quickly, "Where is she? _Where's Sarah_?!" he asked, his voice hoarse and worried, as the young man had expected it to be. Carlos was almost as innocent as Sarah in certain situations.

"She's fine! Calm down. You need to come with me. Do we have weapons yet? Did Johnny even remember to bring the damn supplies..." Nick trailed off as he noticed the looks everyone was getting on their faces. "What? Did something happen?"

"Johnny hasn't shown up yet..." Alvin explained, walking into the growing group of people around the entrance to the monument. "Neither has Kenny, and-"

"Where's Pete?" Nick suddenly asked, crossing his arms and scowling at the beefy man who was slowly putting the situation into words. The youngest man was thinking that if his uncle was around, wouldn't he have been the first to come see his nephew? Had the group abandoned his uncle?!

"We don't know. We don't know where _any_ of them are. We didn't even know where you were until five minutes ago." Sarita mentioned, sticking questionably close to Carlos's side. Nick didn't like what he was hearing, and neither did Clementine.

The young girl was worried about Kenny; the last time she saw him, they were in a lot of trouble. "I-I see'd Kenny and Carver..." she spoke up, looking to Mike who had stuck close to her, bent down to her height. "What? Where?!"

"Yeah, where?" Nick asked, confusion lacing his features. He hadn't seen either man, and Clementine hadn't mentioned seeing them either. He was extremely perplexed about where she was getting this idea from, and why she hadn't declared it earlier.

"Back in Howe's!" The practically-four-year-old girl proclaimed, flinging her arms out to exasperate her point. Mike chuckled before shaking his head, "We know he was there, Clem. We were there too, I don't think-"

"No! Him and Carver and-and Skyler and Warren was...they was _fighting_! _A gun_!"

Once these words left her mouth, everyone went quiet. She looked up to Bonnie, then turned to Nick. "Luke knows. He was there too." she said quietly, suddenly feeling very shy and anxious. A shiver ran down Clementine's spine; she didn't know if it was because she was cold, or something else...

Carlos, slouched over slightly in defeat, turned his hollowed eyes down to the young girl, "Thank you for telling us, Clementine." There was no emotion in his words, which made the child lower her head and flash her eyes to each of her feet, pulling at her jacket while she stayed alert of the strange feeling in the air.

"So what are we supposed to do? There are lurkers surrounding the trailer, we need a weapon-"

"Look no further; weapons are here!" Nick spun around to see three people he didn't expect to be there. Warren, Skyler and some other boy were walking towards them; each of them carrying a bag of supplies - both boys also carrying rifles over their shoulders.

"s'bout time we freaking found you guys. I was starting to think I'd never have a chance to meet you!" the new boy stepped forward, his blonde hair swaying in the breeze, "I'm Chase."

Carlos ignored the introduction and instead pulled the rifle off the young boy's shoulder. "We need to go get Sarah." he said, facing Nick and waiting to be shown the way to his daughter. Nick nodded his head, taking the rifle from Warren and motioning for Carlos to follow.

"I'll go too."

Both men turned to look at Jane, who stepped forward and took a pistol from Skyler - who had pulled it out of the back of her pants and held it out when she saw the look in the older woman's eyes. Bot of the males gave her a surprised glare. Neither of them were keen on letting Jane tag along.

"Whatever. Rebecca, keep an eye on the kid, will ya?" Nick shrugged, just wanting to go get the rest of the group. Deep down, he knew Sarah and Luke weren't his main priority. He was really hoping he'd find his uncle. Pete was all he had left, and he was sure something would snap in him if he lost his last relative - his last anchor.

Clementine pouted up at the man, stepping closer to him and lifting her arms. "Please..." she begged quietly, clenching and unclenching her fists in a last effort to be brought along. Nick knew what she wanted without her saying another word and just shook his head, stepping back away from her.

The girl was about to take another step towards him, but strong arms lifting her off then ground stopped her. "It's okay. We've got her." Mike had a tight grip of her, even when she tried to fight her way out of his arms. She was left watching Nick, Carlos and Jane walk away into the distance while the three teens handed over the supplies to Bonnie and Alvin.

Rebecca groaned in pain, holding her stomach while she sat down on a part of the broken wall. Clementine heard her, and for a second turned her head to make sure her friend was okay. The woman looked tired, but nothing else seemed off.

Clementine's attention moved back to battling Mike when she felt herself slipping thought she might actually escape, but Mike kept her in his arms. Once the rescue team had disappeared from her vision, she gave up, feeling tears prick her vision. "Stop!" she whined, pushing against Mike's chest while he moved to sit on the edge of an empty fountain that a statue of a man stood proudly in the middle of.

She felt so helpless in the man's hold. In her head she knew that she could help out if people let her, but no one would hear her out. No matter how hard she tried to show them she could do what they could, no one noticed. It caused her pain, knowing no one understood what she wanted - needed - and made her feel unloved in more ways than one.

Nobody had time for her anymore, and that was what the three year old was _really_ begging for. She was supposed to feel involved and helpful, but instead she was practically kept on a leash by the people around her, being stopped from doing anything else other than breathing.

Thinking back on it, she couldn't help at all the way people were treating her. All anyone ever did was lock her in an embrace and tell her lies - whisper sweet nothings to her, and she had actually taken hope that what she was being told was true.

Her thrashing in Mike's arms got worse. She was so close to breaking free, but also so far. Each time she thought she was out, she was pulled right back against Mike's chest. She found herself grunting and crying, heaving while she kicked at the man's legs.

Her mind wandered again to the fact that no one would let her do anything for herself. That wasn't what annoyed her though. What annoyed her was a new awareness - the fact that even if she was allowed to help, Clementine had a feeling she couldn't do anything but mess up or cry; like she was doing right then.

When they were being held at gunpoint, she could do nothing but count on Luke to keep her safe.

When the walkers started attacking back at the trailer, she could only hide behind the grown-ups and stay back with Sarah, cowering in the back room.

It hit her all at once; she really was _useless_.

"Calm down, Clem-" Mike tried to stop the girl's tantrum from getting any worse, struggling to keep the squirming child in his arms, but he couldn't speak as the girl grunted more as she tried to escape and choked back sobs when her eyes shot up to his face. She was begging him through her weeping to just leave her alone.

Mike saw the anger and hurt in her Amber orbs, but wasn't sure why. He couldn't make out anything other than she was upset like children usually would be; especially in the apocalypse.

"Down! I-I want d-down!" she cried, looking back down away from his face and kicking her legs until she felt Mike gently stand her down. The first thing she did was stumble forward away from her captor, wheezing in a breath that instantly made the robust man jump to his feet and reach out to her, also surprising herself too.

She had never gotten herself worked up so bad that it was becoming hard to breathe.

Her lungs were begging for her to just breathe normally, but she could only take in small puffs and choke on them before breaking off into sobs and wheezing in more air.

"Woah, stop, Clementine. Sarita, can you help...?" Mike trailed off, turning to the Indian woman who was watching from a few feet away. She knew what the man wanted from her, and began gently treading to their side. Clementine spun around, wobbling again since she was becoming disorientated by her thoughts, tears and temper which had taken a turn for a panic attack of sorts.

Sarita kneeled down beside the child and pulled her into an hug before the girl could even register what was happening. Once she realised she was being held in place by someone again, she tried to push away, her cries catching the attention of the other group members.

They all watched from where they were, sympathetic glances being thrown to one another.

"Shh..." It was all the toddler could hear in her ear while someone rubbed her back soothingly even though she was fighting the hold. This one sound that she could pick up on in her broken state was enough to make her realise this person was going to make things better if she just let them.

Clementine stopped lashing out and clung to the person's jacket. Her wailing caused her to erupt into a coughing fit, but she didn't care. It seemed everyone else did because when she let her eyes open as her head laid against her comforters shoulder, she saw everyone's blurry figures staring at her.

This only made her more conscious of her actions and she turned her head the other way, finally seeing who it was that she was snuggled up against; who it was that was letting the girl cling to her where she stood in the dirt.

Sarita smiled at her, not speaking, just continuing to rub her back. Once again, Clementine was mesmerized by the woman she had always thought was beautiful and kind. They stared into each others eyes for a brief moment before Sarita used one of her hands to wipe the tears off the child's face; including the fresh one's that had yet to reach Clementine's chin and run down her neck or drip onto the their clothes.

"What's wrong?" The woman asked, keeping the toddlers eyes locked on hers. Clementine just shrugged, sniffling in the snot that had leaked from her nose. She didn't know what to tell the woman, and she was sure she would drop the queries if she just remained quiet.

Sarita smiled a little more sadly, but, like Clementine had expected, she let it slide. "Okay. It's okay. There's no need to be upset; everyone is doing good."

Clementine was released from the hold and turned to face Mike again. His guilt was clear, but the girl didn't know what she could say to make it better. Instead, she latched onto his leg, hugging him as best she could, "S-sorry..." she apologised meekly, feeling ashamed by how she had acted.

Mike placed his hand on her head, letting her squeeze his knee, "Me too."

Once the waterworks were over, and Clementine was relatively happier, Alvin called her to his and Rebecca's side. They both sat on the opposite side of the fountain, Rebecca holding her stomach and flinching every couple of seconds. This made the toddler a little nervous.

"I think this baby's coming soon." The man explained as he lifted Clementine onto his lap. Her eyes stayed glued to the woman's bump, "Is that good?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows together in confusion. It was hard for her to understand what was so great about this baby. It looked like it was hurting Rebecca, which didn't seem good to the toddler.

"Yeah, it's good. Do you think it'll be a boy or a girl?" Alvin chuckled at her innocence before directing the big question at her. She hummed for a moment while she thought it over before replying, "Girl."

Rebecca was amused by this answer, "Why do you think that?" she asked, smiling at the girl. Clementine just smiled back, "Too much boys here." she said matter of factly, making the pregnant woman laugh. "I think it'll be a boy." she said after the laughing subsided.

Alvin disagreed, "I agree with Clem on this one. I think It's gonna be a girl."

"Well you've never been good with these kinds of things. But I don't think we'll have to wait much longer to find out." Rebecca's happiness quickly became overcast by a small amount of fear and dread. It was clear to see things weren't just black and white anymore.

Clementine was beginning to see that there were more answers than 'yes' and 'no'. She realised now that a 'maybe' could be thrown in the works at any given moment and that could changed everything immensely. She was sensing that there were other outcomes besides 'good' and 'bad'. And that frightened her a little more.

"Would you like to feel the baby kick, Clementine?" The girl's thoughts were cut short when she heard the pregnant woman's question. Her bloodshot, still puffy eyes brightened a little and a small, shy smirk snuck onto her face. "Yes, please."

Alvin placed one hand under Clementine's stomach and the other on her back, keeping her weight off his wife as the small girl leaned over to place her ear against Rebecca's belly. The three year old listened for a minute, her gaze set on Rebecca's knee. She couldn't hear anything inside the woman's stomach.

Just before she pulled her head away, a light push against her cheek made her jump slightly, a surprised giggled escaping her mouth. She let Alvin pull her back onto his knee, lifting her hand to the cheek that had been hit, beaming at Rebecca. "I felt." she said simply, waiting for the woman to explain.

Alvin beat her to it, "The baby must have kick." Clementine turned to look at him, confusion settling on her face, "Kicking's bad." she pointed out, feeling curious as to why the baby wasn't getting into trouble for doing the naughty deed.

"That's the baby's way of saying it's okay. When the little munchkin is born, we'll lay down the rules. No kicking will be one of them." Rebecca said, smiling at the innocence behind the girls facts. It was adorable, but also somewhat unsettling.

Rebecca knew they'd have to get Clementine to defend herself when she was older, but how Rebecca saw it - Clementine had been brought up her whole life with strict instructions to behave nearly always and was treated as if there weren't zombies walking the earth. She didn't know if they could convince the child to stand up against the monsters and gain some independence in case worst was to happen.

"Hey, we need to tell you something." Skyler spoke up, stepping away from the wall until she was standing closer to the people at the fountain. Mike and Sarita moved closer to Alvin, Rebecca and Clementine's side and waited in anticipation for what the girl and two boys had to say, "What is it?"

"It's about your friends - Kenny and Johnny..."

* * *

**Chapter 26:**

* * *

"It's about your friends - Kenny and Johnny..."

"What's wrong with 'em?" Mike asked, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at the teenagers. He hadn't seen Kenny since the man stubbornly left the expansion to go back indoors and find Clementine. He was worried about the little girl, and there was nothing Mike could do to change his mind.

Warren messed with the handle of the blade at his hip, his eyes wandering to each and every person on front of him. Clementine locked eyes with him and his gaze lingered in her for a moment, as if he knew she knew what was going on, before he turned back to Mike. "Let me explain what happened..."

* * *

_Warren was surprised when Kenny slammed into the side of Carver, knocking him and Skyler over. The nineteen year old boy quickly leaped forward to help his sister up away from the brawling men. "Are you okay?!" he asked, pulling his twin into a tight embrace._

_Skyler hugged him back, telling him she was fine. He was finding it hard to believe since he could feel her hands trembling on his back, but he didn't question her. He was just happy that she was alive._

_Kenny had gained the upper hand, landing a few punches on the madman's face and bruising the skin around Carver's eye and cheek. "How do you like it, huh?! Maybe now you know how Clementine felt! You beat a **little girl, **you scared her half to death you son of a bitch! Then-" Kenny landed another blow to Carver's nose, grunting as he did so, "-you send her outside **on her own**!? She could've got hurt! You got nothing to say, tough guy?" _

_Carver smirked up at Kenny, blood trickling form his nostrils, still not speaking. This annoyed Kenny more than Warren and Skyler would've expected. "I'll fucking kill you!"_

_The twins had taken cover behind some shelves, peaking around the corner to try find an opening to grab Carver's gun, but they couldn't eve locate where it was. "Do you see it?" Warren asked, moving back into full cover behind the shelf just in case Carver tried to hurt them again and looking to his sister across from him. "No."_

_They both peeked out from their hiding places again, just in time to see Carver knock Kenny back and pull out his gun. "Kenny, look out!" Skyler screamed, running out of Cover and diving towards Carver. She had to save him! He had saved her, so she **needed **to save him! _

_Warren had no choice but to grab Skyler's shirt and stop her mid dive, both of them falling to the ground. He couldn't risk losing her. Not again._

_A loud gun shot rang out and Kenny cried out in agony, gripping his bleeding chest. Carver stood up, turning to face the two young adults scrambling to get up off the ground. "You should've never crossed me." he said coldly, lifting his gun to aim at Warren's face. Skyler quickly stood on front of him, even though Warren was taller and Carver still had a perfect aim at his head._

_Both twins were prepared to die. Not so surprisingly, both of their thoughts went to Bishop and how they thought he'd react after hearing about their deaths. Another gunshot rang out, scaring them both as they awaited the bullet that would kill them, but it never came. Instead, Carver fell to the ground with a grunt, gripping his side where he had been shot._

_"Tie him up!" a voice barked while multiple friendly faces ran into the main corridor from behind some shelves closer to the pen. The shooter lowered his gun, smiling at his peers who had been so close to dying. "Should I have shot to kill? I don't think I could've either way, but...what do you think?"_

_"Dude, you just saved out asses..." Warren said, watching as Carver was tied up and dragged away - his wound being ignored by his capturers. Kenny was also helped up and dragged away to get medical help, but the way he wasn't even trying to support his own body weight made the nineteen year old boy a little worried._

_Skyler ran away from the scene to the corner that Luke and Clementine had escaped around, looking down the corridor before shouting something at someone; something Warren didn't hear. He was too busy getting over the shock that had just set in his mind. He and his twin had literally been seconds from death; The one thing he vowed to never let happen to his little sister - even if she was only younger by a few seconds._

_Skyler was back at Warren's side in a flash, staring at the boy who had saved them before throwing herself into his arms, hugging him as best she could. "Thank you, Chase." she mumbled into his shirt, trying to overcome the fear that had her trembling. _

_Watching her brother have a gun aimed at his head scared her more than she ever thought it would. She couldn't even begin to imagine how he must've felt when it was her being held at gunpoint only a short while before._

_"No problem, Sky. I wasn't about to let some maniac take you guys out like that. We're friends - **family** \- and I'll always have your backs, not matter what. Just like you guys always have mine." Chase smirked at Warren, like he usually did, and Warren finally let himself smile too; finally seeing the truth._

_It was over. They were all alive. And now, they had a new base._

* * *

"You mean he's alive?!" Rebecca suddenly gasped, grasping her stomach more tightly and leaning forward in horror, her fear mixed with her resentment towards the thought that such a monster had not been put down yet. Clementine looked at her with curious eyes, and the woman tried her best to regain her normal posture as to not scare the child anymore than she already so obviously was.

Skyler's soft facial features became serious for a moment, he eyes narrowing solemnity, "We don't just kill people like that. We're taking him back to camp, were we'll explain what it is he did and let our elders decide what we do with him. Imprisonment would be a lot less merciful than just down right murdering him on the spot, don't you think? We can't become like Carver - killing whomever we want, whenever we want. That's not how I was raised, and that's not how your going to raise _that_ little girl."

Clementine had fixed her gaze on Skyler as soon as the girl began speaking, and although she didn't understand completely what was said, Clementine did know that Carver was still alive. She also knew that whatever the young woman had said made more than one of the survivors around her uneasy.

"Don't just assume we're bad guardians because we're not doing things morally like we would've before the world went to shit. We're raising Clementine in a way that we're all agreeing on, not just on what's 'right'. That's not going to keep her safe. We need Carver gone, or at the least kept under close surveillance by you're people. We're not like that man, and we wouldn't want him dead for no reason; in fact, we've got some pretty justifiable reasons for wanting him in the ground. Just promise us he won't bother us again. Do that, and we'll let you have him; we'll let you decide what happens to him. Otherwise, I want him dead. I'll even kill him myself if I have to. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure he never again touches my wife, child, or anyone else in this group." Alvin stood up, the toddler still in his arms while he gave his speech - the first outspoken thing he had ever done without his wife's guidance.

The bulky man stood Clementine down, and she looked up to see him flash her a small smile before turning his attention to the three teens on front of him. Skyler smirked while crossing her arms, turning her head to face her brother. Warren also looked at her, mirroring her grin before he extended his hand, waiting for Alvin to shake it.

"Deal."

The tension that had grown in the air only moments before disintegrated into peace and hope once more. Clementine moved back to Rebecca's side, pulling in her hand to get the woman's full attention, "What's wrong, Clem?"

"Where's Johnny?" the small girl asked, pouting at the pregnant woman since she hadn't seen her friend in such a long time. She hadn't even heard anyone say his name since Nick had left with Carlos and Jane; not until it had been formed in her own mouth and spoken through her own voice just then.

Rebecca's eyebrows furrowed together, as she too began to wonder were their last group member had gone. "Where's Johnny?" she repeated the child's question loud enough to gain everyone's attention. "Yeah, he wasn't at the expansion with us. Where is he?" Bonnie questioned, growing concerned for her fellow guard-turned-rebel.

Chase stepped forward, a smile on his face. "Hey, don't worry. Johnny saved my life, at the price of being stabbed in the arm. I helped him to get medical treatment and he's fine. He's the one who sent us here with all these supplies." Chase pointed to the bags that had been sat next to the fountain.

"Johnny told me to tell you guys 'good luck.' and he want's to join our squad and finally be part of something constructive. He won't be coming out here, but he told me to give a message to Clementine. That's you, right?" The tall boy bent down on front of Clementine, the small girl nodding her head while she kept her hand on Rebecca's leg.

"Johnny wanted me to tell you, that he's very thankful that he met you. He want's to see you again some time, so don't forget to drop in if you guys come back this way. Howe's will always have room for you, so you're welcome back any time."

Clementine smiled at the boy, loving the idea of visiting Johnny. "Cans we do that, Rebecca?" she asked, looking away from Chase and up to the woman next to her. "I'm sure some day we can come back." Rebecca said, exchanging a small smile with the boy as he stood up. She was glad they had met such nice people.

"Why don't you go play, Clementine. We might be here for a while." The three year old was happy to hear there was finally time to play and left the woman's side to play in the stones that scattered the ground. She decided they were small enough to throw, and settled for a game of 'hit the fountain', which she proudly made up herself.

She had only been playing for a few minutes, smiling every time she would hear the dull sound of the pebbles hitting the stone fountain, when a thought crosses her mind. She began to wonder why Pete hadn't shown up yet, and after a quick seconds of thought, Clementine decided he must've got lost.

A small smirk tugged at her lips as she dropped all the stones in her hands and looked around to the other group members, all of which were talking in small groups, paying no attention to her. Clementine turned her head to face the tree's that Nick and company had disappeared through, and her smile on grew.

She was going to go save Uncle Pete.

* * *

**Chapter 27:**

* * *

Clementine took a few steps back, farther from the fountain, towards the path that led from Parker's Run, but stopped abruptly upon hearing something she had never heard before. A foreign sob reached her ears and, in pure curiosity, she turned to look at her group; in doing so finding that it was Sarita who seemed to be crying.

The small girl couldn't go help Pete if Sarita needed help too. She knew where Sarita was, she had no idea where Pete had gotten to. In her mind, it made more sense to stay around for a while longer until she found out what was wrong with the woman who had comforted her only a short time before.

The girl quickly walked over to the Indian woman sitting at the edge of the fountain with her head in her hands. Bonnie was sitting next to her and Mike stood a few feet away talking with Warren and Chase. Skyler stuck with Alvin and Rebecca on the opposite side of the fountain.

Pulling on the woman's sleeve, Clementine turned her gaze to Bonnie - her eyes asking the question that burned through her mind. Sarita looked up to see the small girl with a tight grip on her sleeve paying no attention to what she was doing. A small smile tugged at her trembling lips, her sadness still flooding out through tears in her eyes.

"Oh, Clem, what's wrong, sweetie?" Sarita asked, straightening up and wiping at her eyes quickly, tears continuing to roll down her cheeks. Clementine turned her head away from Bonnie, who had just stared back at her quietly, and raised a confused eyebrow at the Indian woman.

"What's wrong?" The child asked, crossing her legs where she stood anxiously. She didn't want anyone to be sad anymore, especially the one person who had always been so strong in the toddler's eyes. Sarita released a shaky breath before beginning to explain, "It's Kenny."

Clementine just stared up at the woman as she broke down again. The child didn't understand why Sarita was so sad over the bearded man - he was fine only a while ago. He had saved her and Luke. "Why?" She asked, furrowing her eyebrows together in confusion.

Sarita's smile faltered, her frown showing more strongly now as she leaned over and pulled the girl up onto the fountain in between her and Bonnie. "Clem, did you see Kenny get hurt?" Clementine shook her head, swinging her legs gently were she sat staring up at the Indian woman.

"Okay, but you heard what Warren and Skyler said, didn't you? About him getting injured by Carver?"

"Yes..." The small girl lowered her head, thinking back to the story the older kids had told the group only a half hour before. She didn't like the idea of Carver hurting more people than her, but she couldn't deny that she was glad it wasn't her this time. Still, she knew that Kenny was in fact hurt.

"I- We don't... He's not coming back." Sarita broke off into sobs, leaving Clementine to stare up at her in disbelief. "Why not?" she asked, flinching when she felt Bonnie's hand land on her shoulder. She didn't understood why Kenny wouldn't come back. He came back before, after Lee left, so why couldn't he come back again?

"I'm sorry, Clementine." Bonnie said, recoiling her hand and placing it on her lap with her other. Clementine turned to look at her with furrowed eyebrows and a frown on her face. "He's fine." she whispered, turning to look off into the woods nearby. She didn't want to be around these people anymore. All they were doing where making her heart ache. She needed to go find Pete.

Sarita didn't notice her slide off the fountain, but Bonnie did. "Where are you going, city mouse?" she asked, not receiving a vocal answer. Instead, the answer came in the gesture of a pointed finger in Rebecca's direction. The red haired woman nodded her head and shot the small girl a sorrowful smile. Clementine tried to ignore it and move away from the group.

It wasn't too hard for her to get back to her original spot where no one was paying any attention to her and she was soon at the edge of the trees, looking around for any signs of movement. Sensing the coast was clear, Clementine started walking into the woods, not sparing the small number of people behind her a glance. She was confident she could find Pete and reunite the entire group. Then they could all go back for Kenny. Together.

* * *

Clementine had been walking for quite a few minutes, searching in between as many trees as she could. "Pete?" she called, quietly, but loud enough for anyone - or anything - nearby to hear. Nobody replied so she kept walking. Her little legs were starting to ache, and her head was hurting, but she continued forward.

The three year old wasn't sure what had given her such a need to keep moving, but that's what she did. She just kept going.

Two things stayed in her thinking mind - 1) If she could find Pete, and 2) If Kenny really was gone. As much as Clementine didn't want to believe it, she couldn't help but feel as though Bonnie and Sarita were telling the truth. Why would they lie to her? Besides, she had heard with her own ears that Kenny had been hurt by Carver...

But so had she.

She had been hurt by Carver too, and she was still okay. That's what she didn't understand. Why was she still with the group even though, from what she had been told, the exact same thing had happened to Kenny, but he wasn't coming back to them.

Clementine was so caught up in her thoughts, she didn't see the movement to her left. It wasn't until the walker had a tight grip of her arm that she snapped out of her daze and screamed in terror. The zombie growled at her from where it was pinned to the ground under a fallen tree; only it's top half poking out into the world.

It was almost as if time slowed down for Clementine. She was pulling away from the beast as hard as she possibly could, but it had an iron grip and wouldn't let her go. As each millisecond passed, the child's arm was yanked closer towards the walkers mouth. Clementine managed to stay reasonably quiet and calm, only breathing heavily and grunting as she tried to yank her arm away from the monsters gnashing jaws.

It wasn't until she felt the immense pressure squeezing in on both sides of her arm that she went into panic mode. She cried out, pushing her free hand against the walkers face and digging her heels into the ground while she tried to free her arm from the undead beings mouth. It wasn't working; the walker continued to bite down on her left sleeve.

Clementine called out for someone to help, but nobody came to her rescue. It didn't take long for the fabric of her jacket to start ripping and she quickly felt the teeth of the walker touch her skin. Surprisingly, the teeth were not sharp at all; in fact they could be considered as blunt as a hammer, or even more comparable, a spoon - and they didn't pierce her skin. Not straight away, anyway.

The pinch worsened a second later, and the almost-four-year-old knew she was wrong – the walker could pierce her skin. She continued to call out, crying for someone to help. Her screams became more terror stricken when the pain grew more as the teeth finally started to cut through her arm. As this new pain sent volts of misery coursing up her arm and down her fingers, the terrified child pulled harder against the walker feasting on her and, un-expectantly, she was released from the death grip.

Clementine fell backwards, tears streaming down her face as she stared at the walker that was trapped under the fallen tree, reaching out for her but not being able to reach. Then her attention turned to her arm – the arm with the blood smeared across a shallow bite where the monster had gotten her.

She sobbed in fear while backing up more from the walker. Her arms stung, making her whimper and look down to the bleeding limb again from where she sat on the ground of the forest. Her eyes looked past the arm that was causing her so much pain to the ground below her to see an old, blood smeared box-shaped contraption lying in the dirt. It hadn't been there before.

The girl leaned over and picked up the weird thing, wiping away the blood with the sleeve of her jacket that was still in tact. Clementine wasn't really bothered by this item, and just shoved it down the front of her coat before hugging her knees close to her chest and weeping as she watched the growling beast try and reach out for her. Her eyes looked around the secluded area she was in, and she only cried harder. She wanted someone to come for her.

She _missed_ Lee.

She _wanted_ Christa.

She _needed_ Luke.

Clementine felt too tired and frightened to get up off the ground and search for the way back to Parker's Run, so she just continued to sit on the dirty trail and cry. She was only a little girl, after all.

She didn't know what else to do.

A rustling in the bushes caught the child's attention and she turned her head to look towards the noise, her heart clenching in terror. She didn't want any more walkers to show up – the growling of the one nearby under the tree was already horrifying enough.

As she debated on whether she should get up and hide or not, a figure burst through the bushes and skidded to a stop, staring at the walker trapped under the fallen tree before turning to look at Clementine.

"Pete!" the girl gasped, surprised that she had actually managed to find the man – even though he had technically found her.

"Clementine!" the old man exclaimed, his eyes wide with worry as he took in the sight of the crying girl sitting on the ground alone. "Are you okay? I heard screaming. Why are you out here alone?" he pulled the girl up off the ground, letting her bury her face in his shoulder.

Another sob rose in her throat before she began explaining. "It hurted me…" she wept, clutching her injury close to her chest with her good arm. Pete hugged the girl close, looking down at her trying to figure out what she meant. "What did?" he asked, his eyes wandering to the walker that was growling lowly nearby. A feeling of dread washed over him.

Clementine leaned back and glared at the walker, pointing at it with her injured arm. As her ripped and bloody sleeve was out in front of Pete's face, his eyes only widened more before he roughly grabbed her wrist, pulling it even closer to his eyes. "W-what…? I-it didn't bite you did it?!" he asked, his voice raw with emotion.

Clementine could tell by Pete's reaction that it wasn't good, and refused to answer his question. She just stared at the bite, her lip quivering and her eyes watering more.

Pete ran his hand over her wound, wiping away the thick red liquid and making the child cry out in pain, then gawked at the marks on her skin. They were definitely teeth marks, and although they weren't deep, Pete knew what it meant.

"It's okay, Clementine." He said, offering her a fake reassuring smile to try and calm her down. The girl stared at him momentarily before coiling into herself once more against his shoulder and going silent. "It hurts…" she whispered, sniffling in the last of her emotions as a wave of tiredness came over her.

Pete patted her back before starting to walk away from the area, the sound of the walkers growl slowly dying out behind them. "I know..." he whispered, looking down at Clementine's head against his shoulder, "We'll find Carlos soon and he'll make it better."

With this thought finally relieving the girls terrified thoughts, she found herself drifting off to sleep. The last thing she saw before darkness consumed her were the never-ending sequences of green trees and shrubs that Clementine felt wanted to keep her trapped with forever.

* * *

Clementine felt herself being shaken awake and opened her eyes groggily to see more trees like the ones she last remembered viewing. She lifted her head off the shoulder she was resting on and held her gaze on Pete's face for a minute.

"Hm…?" she questioned, rubbing her eye with her good hand. She found that her fingers were tingling on her injured arm and she didn't have any energy to lift it up and inspect it. Instead, she just let it swing at her side; gently rubbing against the front of Pete's shirt.

"I see Parker's Run from here." the old man said, no smile of relief on his face like Clementine thought there would be.

"That's good." She said, noticing the lack of enthusiasm in her words. It was a little surprising to hear her voice sound so down, but she didn't pay much more attention to herself as her eyes targeted the structure on front of them.

As Pete had said, Parkers Run was just up ahead. Clementine took not that they seemed to have followed the route she had snuck away by since she could see the back of the fountain's monument instead of the front; where the main entrance was.

She laid her head back down on the man's shoulder and stared sleepily at the trees and bushes that they were walking past. She was really starting to hate the woods.

Soon, voices could be heard growing louder with each step. Clementine couldn't make out what they were saying because they were still quite a distance away. Pete picked up the pace, fixing his hold on the small girl with one hand and raising the other in the air to wave someone over.

Hurrying footsteps crushed some leaves ahead of them, and the approaching person finally spoke. "Hey! Pete- you have Clementine?! Oh man, that's a relief! I was starting to think I'd never seeya again." Nick's genuine happiness was refreshing to Clementine, who lifted her head to look at him with drowsy eyes.

As soon as he saw her face, Nick's small smile disappeared. "Woah…is everything okay? She's not looking so good…"

Clementine looked around to see if anyone else had approached them, but it didn't seem anyone else even noticed their return - besides Nick, obviously. He had been sitting alone, watching the perimeter for any trouble and spotted Pete waving him over.

Pete put his hand out, looking at Clementine with expectant eyes. "Can I have your hand please?" She lifted her arm slowly and latched her fingers weakly around Pete's palm, letting both men stare at the still bleeding wound.

"What happened?" Nick asked, thinking she had just fallen or something. Pete ripped the girls sleeve more so the wound was more visible and used his sleeve to wipe the blood away so Nick had a proper view of the mark.

The young man's face fell even more than it had before – which Clementine didn't think was possible. "H-how…?" Nick was speechless.

Pete sighed, looking into the distance to see the rest of the group crowded around, still none of them noticing his and Clementine's return yet. He turned back to Nick, releasing a tired breath before offering his nephew a smile.

"I'm glad at least you're okay, son. I need you to take her somewhere quiet. She's tired. Maybe you could try stopping the bleeding?" Pete handed over Clementine, trusting his nephew to keep an eye on her for a few minutes.

Nick wasn't completely with/for the task Pete had put forward, "I'll take her, but I'm not the doctor. You should get Carlos to take a look at it; maybe it's not as bad as we think-"

"Look, there's no time for this. Just watch her for a few minutes until I explain what happened to the others, _then_ we can get Carlos to take a look." Nick nodded, shutting his mouth and turning his back on his uncle. "We'll be over here." He shouted over his shoulder, walking back towards the trees to find a quiet spot to sit.

Clementine found herself being stood down, wobbling slightly on her jelly-legs as she watched on while the red capped man bent down next to a tree, sitting with his back against it before pulling her close to him and sitting her across his legs. "Where's Luke?" was the first question out of the girl's mouth, childish curiosity making an appearance.

Nick sighed, looking down at the small child who stared up at him innocently. He could see the tears in her eyes, and was honestly surprised that they weren't falling from her Amber beauties. He respected how strong the small child was. "Out looking for you."

"Oh… I'm here now." Clementine pointed out, staring down at her bleeding arm, pouting at it. "Does it hurt?" Nick asked, noticing her gaze locked on the bite. The child nodded her head, leaning against Nick's chest and breathing out a long, tired breath. She watched as Pete and Carlos's heads appeared from around the fountain. just as quickly as they appeared, they disappeared back into cover again.

"Ow…" Clementine whimpered, squeezing her arm tightly to try and stop the pain that was radiating through her arm. Nothing was helping. "Nick…" She whined, leaning forward and spinning herself around so she was facing the man. She pushed her injured arm into his chest, leaning against it until her head touched his chin. She looked up at him. "Fix, _please_!"

Before Nick could open his mouth again, someone wrapped their fingers around Clementine's waist and pulled her away from Nick's warmth. She was turned around to to see Carlos holding her, his lips forming a serious straight line. Pete stood next to him, smiling at her sadly.

"May I please see the bite Clementine?" the Spanish doctor asked, kneeling down and standing the toddler on her own two feet. Clementine complied and showed the man her arm, pouting as she felt the air nip at the wound.

"Did a lurker do this?" Carlos asked, searching for an answer directly from the small girl. Pete glared at the younger man, "I told you already, Carlos!" he snapped, "I saw the damn thing with my own eyes!"

Carols returned the glare, his jaw locking as his angry eyes met Pete's. "I just want to clarify it with her." he growled, his eyebrows furrowing together while Pete backed down. The older man trusted Carlos doctoring skills and let him do things his way.

While Pete closed his mouth and stood back silently Carlos turned his attention back to Clementine, his gaze softening. "Did it bite you?" he asked again. The girl nodded her head, sad eyes roaming the doctors face. "You fix it? 'Cos Nick can't..." she spoke quietly, turning her head to see Nick climb to his feet and stare at the ground with his arms crossed over his chest.

When Clementine looked back to Carlos, she noticed the sadness in his eyes. "I'll try." he said simply, quickly scanning her forehead, were her stitches were, to be more precise. "We need to check your other wounds as well."

It only took a few minutes for Carlos to scan her wounds and come to a verdict. "Her stitches are holding together very well. That gash should be healed very soon." His positive news was quickly out blown by the negative news, "The bite... I can't tell if it's infected or not. We don't have enough resources to treat it unless we're certain there's no infection."

"What d'you mean? We can't do shit?!" Nick scoffed, turning his back on them and marching off in one of his moods. Pete followed after him. Clementine sat on the ground, staring at the doctor before her. "If you feel better tomorrow, we can clean it and bandage it up. But you'll have to stand the pain until then, okay?"

The girl didn't know how to respond, so she just lowered her head. She didn't understand everything Carlos had said, but she knew one thing was certain.

He couldn't help her.

"Is me sick now?" she asked, looking up to meet Carlos gaze again. Rebecca had told her people get sick when they get bitten. The man stared at her, a flash of confliction shining in his eyes before he answered, "You'll be fine." He then stood up from his kneeling position and turned to look over to the rest of the group.

"Is Sarah here?" Clementine's next question, brought Carlos's eyes back to her. "Yes. She's over there. Do you want to come see her? She said she wanted to see you a short while ago." The girl nodded her head, standing up tiredly and reaching up for the mans hand. He took her palm in his and led her to the others.

The toddler noticed every eye aiming right at her as she approached the group and just stared back. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Rebecca's red puffy eyes. The woman had obviously been crying. What about? - The toddler was going to find out.

"Clementine! I am so glad to see you!" Sarita pulled her into a bone crushing hug, one that took the child by surprise. "How are you feeling, sweetie?" the woman's gaze shot down to her injured left arm before locking with the girls amber orbs again. The uncertainty in Sarita's eyes made Clementine uneasy. "Tired." she answered, shrugging her shoulders and pulling her arm closer to her body as it burned with furious heat.

"Do you want to take a nap?" Skyler spoke up, watching the girls each and every move. Clementine just shook her head and moved closer to Sarah, "Hi, Sarah." She greeted, all her childish enthusiasm gone since the last time the teenager had seen her. "Hi, Clem..." Sarah spoke warily, not sure what to say. Her eyes darted to her father, who she was so glad to have back. Carlos just nodded his had at her, "It's okay, sweetie. Why don't you and Clementine go play?"

"Okay."

The whole time Sarah stayed with Clementine, she couldn't get the toddler to be happy. At one point, Sarah thought she'd gotten a smile out of her smaller friend, but it turned out to actually be a wince in pain because the toddler squeezed her injury to tightly with the hand she was shielding it with.

Suddenly, both girls turned their attention away from each other and instead looked to the last person to return. Luke strode towards the two girls, evoking Clementine to stand up and stare at him with wide eyes. She had never seen him look like that before. He looked angry. "You should have never run off like that, Clementine. You could've gotten yourself killed!"

The girl knew as soon as the man opened his mouth that he wasn't angry. He was worried, and more so, he was _disappointed_. Luke just stood on front of her, his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed down at her. Clementine shrank into herself, cowering away from her guardian while her frown only grew lower on her lips. She kept her eyes on him for a second longer, expecting more disappointed statements to leave his mouth, but they never came.

Instead, Luke bent down to her height and pulled her into a hug, holding her head against his shoulder with his hand. "I thought we lost you." He whispered, holding her a little tighter. Clementine couldn't hug him back, as much as she wanted to. Something felt horribly wrong about everything happening, and she couldn't pin point exactly what it was. All she knew was that things were not good, and that made her feel numb to a point were she wouldn't - _couldn't - _speak out; through words _or_ actions.

Luke only stopped the embrace when a hand was placed firmly on his shoulder.

"Hey, man. I- we need to tell you something..." Nick rubbed the back of his neck anxiously, looking down at Clementine while Luke stood up. She was curious as to what the taller man was about to say. "What's up?" Luke asked, sensing the seriousness in his best mates words.

"Uh...I gotta warn you, Luke - it's back news... Promise you won't freak out. 'Cos I got the feeling you're gonna lose your shi-"

"Just tell me, Nick. I don't think there's anything I haven't seen already; I mean, how back can it really be...?"

Nick shrugged his shoulders, clearing his throat before revealing his 'bad news'. It turned out to be Clementine's bad news. "She got bit." The toddler's shoulder slumped after hearing these words, and again the feeling of dread ate away at her insides. The pain in her arm still noticeably hurting her.

"What?" Luke instantly shot back, his eyes narrowing at Nick. The younger of the men stepped back a little, obviously feeling intimidated by the darkness that had clouded over his friend. "I-I'm sorry, man, but Clementine got bit. It happened after she ran off."

Luke refused to hear what was so blatantly being told to him. "What the hell, Nick?! You...you don't just say this shit to people! There's nothing wrong with her, she's _fine_! I can not _believe_ this! Where is it? Where's the damn bite?!"

"On her arm."

The brunette was on his knees on front of the toddler again in a split seconds, grasping her right arm and pulling up her sleeve to see nothing. He bit his lip as he dropped her uninjured arm and took her left wrist in his grasp. He didn't have to pull up her sleeve because he could already see what it was he was searching for. He could see the large rip in the girls jacket and the bloody wound on her arm.

His eyes were wide, his mouth slightly open while he stared down at the bleeding bite at a loss for words. Slowly, his head raised to meet the three year olds tired, hurt and sad gaze. There was no denying it. The proof was right there on her arm, only made stronger by the loss of childishness in her eyes.

Clementine had been bit.

"No..."

* * *

**Chapter 28:**

* * *

_To be continued..._


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